About 430 sexual assaults were reported in the area last year, up 31 percent from 2020. “It’s absolutely disturbing and frightening,” he said. Dayna Wellok, adding that there is more to the picture. “It’s not just the northwest region with the significant increase from 2020 to 2021. We see this increase throughout the province.” Wellock, who heads the Victim Support Unit in the Northwest region, said many factors contribute to the higher numbers, including the impact of the pandemic on services and communities. In 2017 and 2018, the number of sexual assaults reported in northwestern Ontario remained stable at about 397 cases, Wellock said. The first eight months of the pandemic saw a sharp drop in reported crime across Canada, with police reporting crime rates falling by 18%. Wellock said reports of sexual assault also dropped significantly in the northwest that year due to COVID-19, as many people avoided coming to police stations to report.
Sexual assaults occur more often than reported
While the number of reported cases of sexual assault seems high in the Northwest, Wellock said the rates of unreported assaults are much higher.
An April 2019 report from the Ministry of Justice estimates that only 5 percent of victims will report a sexual assault to police.
People from remote First Nations often have to travel to other nodes in northwestern Ontario, such as Sioux Lookout or Thunder Bay, for support. (CBC News)
Wellock said years of work have been done to improve response and support to victims, and she believes the high number of reported sexual assaults may be due to increased reliance on the reporting system.
“We are working very hard, and especially in my job since 2018, to get the message across to survivors and victims of sexual assault that we are here to listen, we are here to take the report and I am here to take them seriously. ».
Officers develop trauma skills
In the Northwest, OPP conducted an interview program for sexual assault. Wellock said officers have received specialized training to interview victims with an injury-informed approach. The Sioux Lookout and surrounding communities reported 112 sexual assaults, making it the highest number in the Northwest for 2021. Wellock said there has been specific planning in the Sioux Lookout area to address the issue of sexual violence, including a growing commitment to community organizations and victim services. The First Step Women’s Shelter and the Nahnahda-wee-ee-wayin Sioux Lookout Sexual Assault and Counseling Center are among the first-line organizations working with victims of sexual abuse and assault. Tana Troniak is the executive director of both facilities at Sioux Lookout, which serves as the hub for more than 30 top nations in the area outside of Sioux Lookout. Almost all of its customers are indigenous, he said. “It’s really about working with our clients directly on a model that is informed about trauma and harm reduction. You really need to build trust. We serve 99 percent of the indigenous people, so they need to feel that trust.”
People in the far north face obstacles
Troniak said people living in northern communities face particular obstacles, as generations’ mistrust of the police makes it more difficult for attack survivors to share their experiences. He would like to see more resources for victims of abuse in the First Nations because of the distances they have to travel to get help. “It would be nice if nursing homes could have a nurse trained to do sexual assault kits,” he said. “If we do not have people here at our hospital, then they are being sent to Thunder Bay.” Troniak said the approach has to do with meeting customers where they are, and he believes the approach combined with more harm reduction in general could make a difference for victims. “Maybe it’s not one-on-one counseling. Maybe it’s to have a conversation, a cup of coffee the first ten times and they start to trust you.”
