If you are sexually assaulted in Muskoka, you've got a drive ahead before you can even take a shower. The centre for collection of forensic evidence for sexual assault and intimate partner violence has been at Soldiers Memorial Hospital in Orillia for the past 30 years.
We reached out to Lauren Power, executive director of Parry Sound Muskoka Sexual Assault Services, for her thoughts on what that means for survivors. Here is what she told us:
"As always, the issues surrounding sexual violence and its impacts are layered and complex. Having compassionate and specifically trained, trauma-informed medical staff as they do, is vital for the well-being of sexual assault/intimate partner violence survivors. They are experiencing impacts of trauma and have immediate needs for health care while all the complex procedures for legal purposes must be followed as well."
She said most ER departments don’t have staff with these specific skills at all, let alone people on call for when violence occurs, at any time, day or night. She also noted hospitals are not always a welcoming and safe space for everyone.
Survivors suggest other options, such as nurse practitioner clinics or on-call health care providers with specialized training, could better do the delicate work of collecting forensic evidence.
"It is certainly also true that distance and transportation can be challenging for rural survivors," said Power. "As well, our catchment area is Muskoka/Parry Sound District, and so survivors in Parry Sound district may have to also travel either to North Bay, Sudbury or Orillia. That is a long way to go, after an assault, when you can’t shower etc. And a long way home. A major barrier, in fact."
The collection of forensic evidence can play a role in how cases ultimately play out in the court system, and whether justice is ever served.
"Evidence may be collected, stored and transported properly, but then often the focus of the defence becomes the issue of consent, and so in criminal court that also must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. This can be difficult when sexual assault in particular is usually a crime committed without witnesses, and the accused in court has the right not to give evidence."
We learned from an advocate for changes to how the entire criminal justice system deals with sexual assault that the rate of conviction is about 0.25 per cent. Of 100 assaults, only five are reported; of those five, only one charge is laid and half make it to trial. Half of those result in conviction. This means of every 200 sexual assaults, there is one conviction.
"Our agency is advocating for legal reform and a range of services to support survivors first, always," said Power. "We need to do better when a crime is so prevalent and its victims face so many barriers in finding a path to justice"
If you are a survivor of sexual assault, there is help. Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services can be reached at www.mpssas.com. To reach its women’s sexual assault help line, call 1-800-461-2929.
