Ontario to Enhance Police Response to Sexual Violance

Ontario is supporting people who have experienced sexual assault through a program that builds partnerships between community and justice partners, front-line victim service providers and police services across the province.

Fifteen two-year pilot projects have been selected that will provide a more compassionate, sensitive response when survivors of sexual violence come forward and report their experiences. It is so important that survivors receive the compassionate and apporiate response they deserve from professionals across all sectors,” Minister of Women’s Issues  Indira Naidoo-Harris said. Recent media reports indicate one in every five reports of sexual assault are dismissed as “unfounded.”

The projects will also enhance police investigative practices, with a goal of building stronger cases and improving justice system outcomes.  This initiative is part of It’s Never Okay, Ontario’s ground-breaking action plan to end sexual violence and harassment, and also supports Walking Together: Ontario’s Long-Term Strategy to End Violence Against Indigenous Women.  As many as one in three Canadian women may have experienced sexual assault.