Sex assault data show city police likely to lay charge: expert

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This article was published 05/10/2017 (2981 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Winnipeg leads the country in reported sexual assault cases, according to a new study. However, advocates say it’s a good sign, showing police take such investigations seriously.

A Statistics Canada report published this week found Winnipeg had the highest annual average rate of sexual assaults reported to police from 2009 to 2014, compared with 32 other urban areas. Winnipeg has more than twice as many reported sexual assaults per capita as places like Ottawa or Abbotsford, B.C.

However, Karen Busby, director of the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, says the data speak to a proactive system that takes sexual assault seriously.

“I think the only inference that you can draw is the (Winnipeg) police are more likely to lay charges when a complaint is made,” she said.

In February, a Globe and Mail investigation into how police across Canada deal with sexual assault found drastic differences. Nationally, police dismiss on average one-fifth of sexual-assault allegations, with some rejecting more than half as “unfounded.”

The Winnipeg Police Service dismissed just two per cent of such allegations.

Insp. Kelly Dennison, who leads specialized investigations, said the force decided years ago to collect forensic evidence first, and refer all sexual assault cases to specially trained officers.

“We like to think it’s obvious. The trauma that encompasses sexual assault is lifelong. It’s life-changing,” Dennison said. “You don’t have to physically have the scars of being a sexual assault victim.”

The police link victims to local counselling groups, and local nurses are trained on how to gather evidence without hurting victims.

Busby says most psychological research shows a sexual assault victim can better explain what happened after having time to sleep, shower, eat and gather their thoughts. “It’s going to result in more charges being laid, if they’re committed to doing investigations in ways that ensure that complainants can tell their stories in an appropriate and trauma-informed way.”

Yet Busby warns sexual assault investigations will always have difficulty landing convictions, because the legal system’s credibility rests on proving convictions beyond a reasonable doubt.

Tuesday’s study found just 41 per cent of all sexual-assault complaints handled by Canadian police ended up in charges during the six-year survey period.

Warren Silver, a Statistics Canada analyst, said previous reports suggest just one-fifth of sexual-assault victims report to police.

The report also found 48 per cent of sexual assaults are reported to police within a day of when they occurred, compared with 88 per cent for physical assaults (such as being punched).

“This is the first time ever that we looked at the time between when a crime happened, and when it was reported to police,” Silver said.

The median delay in reporting sexual assaults was 25 days, with it often taking longer when the alleged perpetrator is known to the victim.

The study also found females account for 87 per cent of sexual-assault victims, while males make up 98 per cent of alleged assailants.

Half of male victims are aged 13 or younger, compared with 18 years old for females. Silver said anecdotally, men who were sexually assaulted as children are less likely to tell police, even years later.

Dennison said Winnipeg police are constantly adapting how they investigate sexual assaults, entering a recent partnership with Ka Ni Kanichihk medicine lodge.

The police are also participating in a two-year University of Manitoba study aimed at understanding how many Winnipeg sexual assault cases don’t reach trial, and why. Similarly, Silver said Statistics Canada will soon look at how many sexual assault charges end up proceeding to trial.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Police-reported sexual assaults in Canada