Reporting options increased for victims
Sex-assault survivors now have additional avenues to police, public health supports
Choosing whether to report a sexual assault is a complex and personal decision.
Police and public health agencies in Alberta have moved to reflect that reality, creating more options for reporting assaults to law enforcement. Awareness around how to report cases — and receive supports — is timely as new data showed earlier this month that nearly one in two Albertans has experienced childhood sexual abuse or sexual assault.
There is no time limit on reporting a sexual assault, but it is generally only possible to gather physical evidence within seven days of an assault occurring.
Police advise not showering, changing or throwing away clothes, washing hands, brushing hair or otherwise disturbing the location of the assault in order to gather as much physical evidence as possible. Options available for reporting sexual assault in the Edmonton area for adults, depending on the time elapsed since it occurred, include:
Within seven days of an assault, proceed to any of the 11 emergency rooms in the city. Those who check in at any of the emergency rooms will have a Sexual Assault Support
Team (SART) nurse come to them. This is a female nurse specifically trained to conduct a trauma-informed and survivor-centric medical exam and to collect physical evidence if the victim consents.
This includes testing for STIS, pregnancy and any injuries sustained during the assault.
Getting a SART exam does not automatically report the assault to police, but the SART nurse will ask the victim if they want to report to police and connect them to law enforcement if they do immediately or in the future. The nurse will also help connect the victim to support services, such as counselling.
Since the Third Option program was introduced to Edmonton in December, victims can choose for their evidence kits to be stored by RCMP for up to one year as they decide whether to report their assault to police.
A complainant may contact police at any time to report a sexual assault.
By dialing the non-emergency number, victims can connect directly to law enforcement to report their assault and have officers sent out to meet them, or they may go directly to a police station.
If calling within seven days of the assault, officers will ask if the complainant consents to a SART nurse exam and will accompany them to the hospital if they do. After the exam, police will start a report by asking the complainant questions about the case and the alleged perpetrator, if known to them.
All reports are complainant-centric, meaning at any time a victim can decide they do not want to go further and the investigation will be stopped.
Reports of sexual assaults that took place more than seven days earlier can now be made online through a secure web portal on the Edmonton city police website, as well as by calling (780) 423-4567 or going to a police station.
Individuals can choose whether they want the online report to be for information only or for investigation, in which case the sexual assault section will follow up with them within 10 days.
If they choose to submit a report for information, they can take as much time as they need to decide whether to proceed to an investigation, and the file will be reviewed and stored indefinitely.
They may also choose to remain anonymous if the report is provided for information.
If accessing support services through the Saffron Centre in Sherwood Park, survivors will soon have the option to consent to a support worker making a report for information on their behalf to RCMP, executive director Katie Kitschke said.