Sexual assault rates are rising but Labrador is still waiting for promised nurse

Sexual assault survivors in Labrador are still waiting for the Newfoundland and Labrador government to fulfil a promise made a year and a half ago to bring a specialized nurse to the region.

A decision note prepared for Health Minister Tom Osborne in October said St. John's, Corner Brook and Stephenville are the only regions in the province with sexual assault nurse examiners. Only the capital city has a formal program.

Without access to a sexual assault nurse examiner, the note said, most rural areas of the province don't have standardized care for patients who have been assaulted.

The document, obtained by CBC News through anaccess-to-information request, recommends using previously promised funds from the Office of Women and Gender Equity to create a new position for a provincial co-ordinator of the sexual assault nurse examiner programand develop a provincewide program.

Women and Gender Equality Minister Pam Parsons announced in June 2021 thatmore than $250,000 hadbeen allocated to expand the program to Labrador and central Newfoundland. Inquiries to Parsons's office were redirected to Eastern Health.

Eastern Health declined an interview. In a statement, a spokesperson said the health authority isdeveloping the provincial co-ordinator position but has not yet hired someone for the job. Once the position is filled, the spokesperson said, the successful candidate will work toward expanding the program across the province.

When we don't invest money and time and advocacy and care, ithas health consequences and fiscal consequences that you'll see seep into every arena of our community,- Deirdre Connolly

Deirdre Connolly, who runs the Happy Valley-Goose Bay office of the Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre has long advocated for a sexual assault nurse examiner to come to Labrador, where rates of sexual violence exceed national assessments.

"It's the reality ofintergenerational violencethat starts with colonialism and the violent encounter that in many communities introduced sexual violence as kind of a colonial reality and poison, and that went unhealed and unaccounted for," said Connolly in a recent interview.

"When sexual violence doesn't get the care and healing and traumatic integration that it requires,that's when you see those who have been harmed go on to to cause further harm."

Data obtained by The Canadian Press in 2021 showed Labrador had a sexual assault rate that was four times the national average. Between 2016 and 2020,the rate of sexual assault in Labrador was between four and six times higher than inNewfoundland.

According to the note given to Osborne, there were 531 police-reported sexual assaults provincewide in 2021 a 28 per cent increasefrom the previous year. However, Connolly said the actual rate of sexual violence can't be quantified because it is believed few victims go to police.

A sexual assault nurse examiner provides post-sexual assault medical care and are trained specifically to help survivors. They also collect forensic evidence, in case the victim wants to file a police report.

Without having a specialized nurse using a trauma-informed approach, a survivorcould be further harmed and have their health needs unmet, said Connolly.

Currently, the police handlethe forensic aspect of sexual assaults using an examination kit in areas where there is no sexual assault nurse examiner. Connolly said that approach gives fewer options to women who do not want to immediately pursue legal action.

According to the note provided to Osborne, the only sexual assault nurse examiner program in the province in the emergency department of St. Clare's Mercy Hospital in St. John's has seen 818 patients to date, but just 403 cases were reported to police. There is currently no pediatric program for victims under the age of 18.

"These patients were provided crisis intervention, emotional support, medical-forensic assessment with the collection of forensic evidence, treatment with prophylactic medications for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infectionsand storage of evidence if the patient did not wish to report to police at that time," the document said.

The program in St. John's allows evidence to be held anonymously and indefinitely with the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

"It may take years before a survivor is ready to report to the police. Therefore the option to have evidence collected and stored anonymously gives individuals the time and support they may need," the note said.

The decision note also mentionsa case in New Brunswick, where a rape victim was turned away at the emergency department as there were no trained nurses able to conduct the exam. The 26-year-old victim said she was told to go home overnight, not shower or change, and to use the bathroom as little as possible, to help preserve any evidence. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly criticizedthe hospital's response.

• Sexual assault victims' advocate welcomes expansion of specialized nurse training to Labrador

Connolly said entire communities are harmed when survivors of sexual trauma aren't given the opportunityto heal.

"When we don't get the healing that weneed in experiences of sexual violence and the trauma that can come with experiencing that harm it has major consequences in our health system and our legal system," Connolly said.

"When we don't invest money and time and advocacy and care it has health consequences and fiscal consequences that you'll see seep into every arena of our community."

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