SV-Support Victims/Survivors to lessen Harms

Strengths

40% of respondents rated the availability of sexual violence services and supports for female youth and women in the good (33%) to excellent (8%) range. Women and young women have more access to service and supports than other identified groups in the region, but there remains lots of room for improvement.
Promising treatment approaches that would help to lessen harm for victim/survivors of sexual violence were identified by respondents, including: indigenous healing approaches, trauma informed therapy and trauma counselors, Rehabilitation programs for high risk offender through the John Howard Society, Justice Circles, access to counselling through the schools, addressing the falsehoods of rape culture, more available counselling services.
Respondents suggested promising treatment options for children in Grey Bruce: Long term supportive play based therapy with CBT follow up, Education for parents – how to help their victimized child, or how to deal with their child if a predator, Narrative therapy, trauma informed CBT, Wrap around approach with the family and all services involved.
When asked to rate the effectiveness of the community response to sexual violence 42% of the respondents rated the response by victim centered services as good or excellent, and 38% rated the response of mental health/addiction services as good to excellent.

Weaknesses

About half (49%) of respondents rated the availability of victim-centered services to meet the current needs of victims and survivors in the poor (21%) or fair (27%) range.
Respondents rate the support and coordination between victim centered services and other community services in the poor (18%) or fair (28%) range
40% of respondents don’t know if victim centered services use a trauma and violence informed approach in their work: 40% of respondents rated access to services and supports for Indigenous, LGBTQ and disabled victims of sexual violence as poor or fair.
38% of respondents rate access to services and supports for perpetrators of SV as poor (25%) or fair (13%).
Very few respondents (69%) are aware of the availability of evidence based treatment approaches in the region.
91% of respondent are not aware of any promising therapeutic approaches for high risk children that are available in Grey Bruce
When asked how effective our community response is to sexual violence half of the respondents rated service coordination and the police/court response as poor or fair. 46% rated the family court system as poor to fair, and 38% rated the mental health/addiction response and the service response for perpetrators as poor to fair.

‘Child witnesses are not prepared adequately nor do police and judges account for the child development issues which effect disclosure. Police lack sex offender specific training.’ (survey participant)

Discussion

Sexual violence and victimization in childhood, adolescence, or adulthood can have long-term effects on the health and well being of survivors. It can also increase a person’s risk for later SV perpetration and problem behaviours for youth and adults. There are evidence-based therapeutic and victim centered approaches that can help survivors and lessen the harms and long-term risks from SV. Three successful approaches are: Victim-centered services (support groups, crisis intervention, advocacy, access to community resources), Treatment for victims of SV (psychological and psychosocial interventions to address anxiety, depression, distress), and treatment for at risk children, including sex offending.

Survey responses showed a low level of awareness of evidence based treatment approaches in the region, especially for high-risk children. There are effective approaches to SV but it appears that most people don’t know about them. There is also a need to improve service coordination, and the response of criminal justice system.

Survey participants would like to see an improvement in services and supports for perpetrators of sexual violence and an increase in trauma and violence informed service approaches for both survivors and perpetrators of SV.

‘Too many people don’t understand trauma and how it affects peoples’ brains – including volunteers and workers in some victim-centered services.’ (survey participant)

‘There needs to be more open communication between services.’ (survey participant)

When people are vulnerable for multiple reasons they are more likely to experience violence and less likely to access supports and services. If our community truly wants to prevent sexual violence, then we need to address the underlying inequity that makes it possible. This means addressing poverty, racism, and sexism, as well as educational and geographic barriers.

It’s not enough to say that we want to #STOPSV, we also need to actively learn and share about the ways that survivors of sexual violence are impacted. People can’t simply ‘get over’ trauma. It needs to be healed. Here’s a link to video with more info www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-tcKYx24aA