Sexual Assault Awareness Week shines light on a dark issue

As a society we all have a responsibility to speak up when we see inappropriate things happening. –
Kristen Dagenais

Sexual assault councillors with the P.A. Sexual Assault Centre, Karla Ethier and Kristen Dagenais, told paNOW sexual assault remains far too common a problem in the world we live in.

“I think it’s important to have a week raising awareness because of the fact that sexual assault and sexual violence isn’t something specific to one area, or one population. It’s a problem that affects us all and we all have a responsibility to end it,” Ethier said.

“This is an issue that affects people from across lifespans and backgrounds and something that goes totally underreported. I think our youngest client right now is four, and we have people all the way up into late adulthood.”

Ethier added one in three women and one in six men will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetimes.

“What we want people to take away, are the real statistics and the real information, and we want people to look past the myths,” Dagenais said. “As a society we all have a responsibility to speak up when we see inappropriate things happening.”

The P.A. Sexual Assault Centre is also hosting a number of events this week in coordination with Sexual Assault Awareness Week.

A Kids Matter puppet show will be held today, May 13 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Family Treatment Centre. A Meet and Greet event will be held May 14 in the Victoria Hospital lobby from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which will be an opportunity for individuals to meet members of the centre’s staff. A movie screening of Trust will be held at the John M. Cuelenaere Public Library on May 16 at 6:30 p.m.

On a provincial level, SASS spent 18 months with a committee to try to come up with an evidence-based plan to help highlight where more work needs to be done.

Project co-ordinator Patience Umereweneza said they travelled to 22 communities and spoke to more than 1,000 survivors, family members and service providers.

“We talked about prevention and education knowing that really is the foundation of addressing attitudes and beliefs,” Umereweneza said.

In total, there were 22 actions highlighted that range from empowering bystanders to act to appropriate supports and interventions available to how the legal and justice systems can change to help properly support people going through sexual violence trauma.

The Sexual Assault Service of Saskatchewan revealed its sexual violence action plan on May 13, 2019. (Britton Gray/980 CJME)

Jo-Anne Dusel was one of the advisers on the original committee. She said it’s important that lawyers and judges are properly informed so they don’t “fall prey to some of the rape myths that are out there.”

“(It’s important) that they recognize the fact that trauma impacts the way victims remember incidents that are a crisis like a sexual assault,” Dusel said.

Sexual assault and violence has been more in the public eye in recent years with the #MeToo movement and many high-profile cases. From 2017 to 2018, Regina saw a 38.6 per cent increase in the number of reported sexual assaults. During that same time frame, Saskatoon saw 10.3 per cent increase.

Last week, the Regina Police Service announced the implementation of the Philadelphia Model, which allows outside organizations to review how police officers are conducting sexual assault investigations.

SASS executive director Kerrie Isaac said she has noticed a shift during her three years at the organization.

“It’s a difficult conversation to talk about and because it’s so normalized and it’s so entrenched in a lot of the communities in Saskatchewan. It has really allowed individuals to come forward and be heard and be believed,” Isaac said.

While a shift is happening, Isaac said there are still lengthy wait lists at many of the agencies in the province.

Umereweneza said the action plan might not improve reporting rates or conviction rates, but the hope is that when survivors go through the services, they are treated with dignity and respect.

The organization received funding for three years from the federal government to create its plan. With that funding set to expire in about a year, the SASS will need to find funding from other sources. That could include going to the province, going back to the Ottawa or even asking businesses to get involved.

A committee will be created to determine the funding strategy and how much will be needed.

Also taking place today, paid job leave for survivors of interpersonal and sexual violence was introduced and passed in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Employees will be able to take five paid days and five unpaid days under Bill No. 172, The Saskatchewan Employment (Paid Interpersonal Violence and Sexual Violence Leave) Amendment Act, 2019. Previously, employees could take a 10-day, unpaid leave.

“All forms of interpersonal and sexual violence are unacceptable,” Labour Relations and Workplace Safety Minister Don Morgan said.

“It is important that we do everything we can to help survivors access the services and supports they need. We hope that allowing for survivors to take five days leave without the financial worries will make it easier for them to do so.”

The report can be found online.

-with files from CKOM

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Brady.bateman@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TheDigitalBirdy

by Brady Bateman

Sexual Assault Awareness Week shines light on a dark issue

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