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Women's Centres Connect
The collective voice of Women’s Centres in Nova Scotia
 
March 31, 2021

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Nova Scotia. If you are not angry that we -  still - need to campaign for a world where sexual assault isn’t a threat, you are not paying attention.
We can work against the ongoing systematic injustices, systematic racism and gender biases that exist. We can demand answers to questions about why neither Nova Scotia - nor Canada - have strategies on sexualized or domestic violence? This work is critical to changing conversations, creating safe spaces and pathways for justice and care. This work is about changing patterns of behaviour, biases and perceptions, and prevention.

We also need to talk about the fact that sexual assault is the action of one person choosing to commit a heinous crime against another human being. As sexual assault awareness month begins, we ask you to talk about consent. We want to ask if you are brave enough to talk about consent at work or in your social circles. Can you post this on your social media sites?

Consent:
  • Should never be assumed or implied.
  • Is not silence or the absence of “no”.
  • Cannot be given if you are impaired by alcohol or drugs, or unconscious.
  • Can never be obtained through threats or coercion.
  • Can be withdrawn at any time.
  • Cannot be given if the perpetrator abuses a position of trust, power or authority.
  • Cannot be given by anyone other than the person participating in the sexual activity. Your parent, brother or sister, girlfriend or boyfriend, spouse, friend and so on cannot consent for you or on your behalf.
 
March 2021
 
  • Sexual Assault Awareness Month (Nova Scotia)
  • World Health Day - April 7th
  • Denim Day - April 29th

 
More About Sexual Assault
 
Young Canadians are more likely to experience sexual assault. The rate of sexual assault for Canadians age 15 to 24 is 18 times higher than that of Canadians age 55 and older.
  • 82% of all victims of sexual assault under the age of 18 are female, and girls under age 18 report a rate of sexual violence almost five times higher than boys under 18.
  • Girls are four times more likely than boys to be sexually abused by a family member.

Women with disabilities, those who are institutionalized, Aboriginal women, single women, and women who are unemployed or have low-incomes are at heightened risk of sexual assault.
  • Sexual assaults account for about 33% of all crimes committed against Aboriginal women, and 10% of all crimes committed against non-Aboriginal women.
  • Disabled women experience sexual violence at about three times the rate of non-disabled women.
  • Out of the total number of seniors who are sexually assaulted by a family member, 96% are women.

Here is a link to a resource that describes how to support a survivor of sexual assault https://avaloncentre.ca/how-to-support-a-survivor
 
Facts Everyone Should Know
 
  • The majority of sexual assaults are not reported, with approximately 9/10 incidents (88%) going un-reported.
  • The rate of sexual assault among aboriginal women is 3 times higher than the rate of non-aboriginal women in Canada.
  • The rate of sexual assault experienced by disabled women in Canada is 2.5 times higher than the rate for non-disabled women.
  • In Nova Scotia in 2012, there were 668 sexual assaults reported to the police. This translates to a rate of 70.41 per 100,000 population and is higher than the Canadian rate of 62.85 per 100,000 population.
  • According to the most recent (2009) General Social Survey on Victimization in Canada, 47% of victims of reported sexual assaults were 15-24 years old and 25% were aged 25-34, while in more than half of the incidents (56%), the accused was aged 18-34.
 
 
 
 
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