Sex-assault rates remain steady, other crime drops

A new report by Statistics Canada shows that while rates of violent and non-violent crimes in Canada have declined over the last decade, sexual-assault rates have stagnated.

For every 1,000 Canadians aged 15 and older, there were 22 incidences of sexual assault in 2014 — a total of 636,000 self-reported incidents of sexual assault across the country.

A decade earlier, in 2004, there were 21 self-reported sexual assaults per 1,000 Canadians.

Statistics Canada doesn’t release local data on self-reported instances of sexual assault, but Const. Andrew Drouillard of the Windsor Police Service said he thinks those rates hold true in Windsor.

“Unfortunately, there’s varying degrees of perception of the seriousness of the incident of sexual assault,” Drouillard said.

“The offence states that sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual contact. This can include anything from inappropriate touching, grabbing, to actual sexual intercourse.

“And we encourage victims who feel violated in any way to come forward so that we can investigate the incident and so we can ensure that they have access to the many resources that are available to them in this community.”

Windsor police report that 164 allegations of sexual assault were made in 2014. Of those allegations, six were judged to be unfounded, meaning no crime was found to occur. There were 52 occurrences that resulted in charges. Fourteen resulted in a conviction of sexual assault — a 26.92-per-cent conviction rate.

Over the last five years, the Windsor Police Service dubbed around six per cent of sexual assault allegations to be unfounded. Police laid charges in just over 37 per cent of sexual assault allegations, which is the third-highest among comparable police services.

Only one out of 20 sexual assaults were reported to police in 2014, versus one out of three other crimes.

But Statistics Canada warns that the 2014 numbers, released in a report on Tuesday, may still be a dire underestimation of the true picture of sexual assault in Canada. In fact, it’s such an under-reported crime that Statistics Canada considers the collection of self-reported data — meaning a victim identified themselves — to be essential.

The Windsor Regional Hospital’s sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centre treated 98 patients after sexual assaults in 2014. Of those, 65 patients involved police and 33 did not.

In 2015 the centre treated 102 patients after sexual assaults, and 109 in 2016. Sixty-five and 62 patients involved police, respectively.

Statistics Canada found that some individuals are at a higher risk of sexual assault than their peers — women, being between the ages of 15 and 24, being Aboriginal or non-heterosexual.

But Joanne Barbera, program manager of the sexual assault and domestic violence treatment centre, says that isn’t necessarily true in Windsor. She says patients in the sexual assault centre are all different ages, genders and occupations.

“We see sexual assaults from three-weeks-old to 80-years-old,” Barbera said. “I wouldn’t say it’s more one thing than another.”

Barbera said medical staff make it a priority to reassure victims and give them control over what happens after their assault.

“They didn’t have any control — so now they ’re in control,” she said. “Not the nurse, not the police, not anyone: they’re the ones that are in control.”

The patients’ goal is to make sure they’re OK and uninjured, Barbera said. She said patients often want to take HIV PEP, a medication that can be taken after exposure to HIV to help prevent infection, and Plan B, known as the morning-after pill.

“That’s the main focus of a victim when they come in,” Barbera said. “That’s what they come here for. That’s what we give them.”

Drouillard says police understand it can be difficult to report a sexual assault. He encourages victims to come forward and know that they don’t have to suffer in silence.

“Sexual assaults can be extremely traumatic to the victim, both physically and emotionally,” Drouillard said. “It’s our job to ensure they have full confidence that we will take their matter seriously, provide a thorough investigation and give them all those resources that are available to them in the recovery process.”

Drouillard said police provide regular information to victims about the investigation and court proceedings that may follow.

“They’re along the entire way, assisting them,” he said.