LAURIE SCOTT’S STATEMENT ON SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION MONTH
The following is the Ontario PC Critic for Women’s Issues, MPP Laurie Scott’s, statement in recognition of Sexual Assault Prevention Month and Sexual Harassment Awareness Week:
“We dedicate a month to create awareness of sexual assault prevention to acknowledge the severity of this issue, and call for further education across society. We need to take this seriously and to work towards ending sexual assault.
Many experts have said that sexual violence is an umbrella term, covering behaviours ranging from unwanted sexual advances or sexual touching, to stalking and rape. It can also be psychologically conveyed through verbal threats and various forms of social media, such as we see on Twitter and Facebook.
The frequency of sexual violence is shocking and disheartening: one in three Canadian women will experience sexual assault in their lifetime, the majority of the victims being under the age of 25.
While there were 7,618 sexual assaults reported to police in Ontario in 2014, it is estimated that almost 90 per cent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Our children and youth are particularly vulnerable. Our indigenous peoples, members of the LGBTQ community, and newcomers are also disproportionately targeted.
As a caucus, we strongly supported Bill 132, the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act. We call on the government to do more.
We also owe it to the victims and survivors of sexual assault to protect them from being victimized and to help them heal. I’ve called on the government for better support of our probation and parole officers, and for Crown attorneys to be notified when offenders who are let out refuse to sign their orders.
We saw that in Renfrew County, three women were murdered by a repeat offender. The member for Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke brought forward Bill 130, which called for electronic monitoring of sexual or domestic violence offenders when released on parole. It is something that we need to act quickly on to prevent more deaths from occurring, especially for vulnerable women. It is a factor in rural Ontario where services aren’t as close. We hope that the government will institute some of those suggestions that we’ve brought forward.
We must recognize that human sex trafficking in this conversation. Human sex trafficking is an alarming example of sexual violence and harassment and its happening right here in our neighbourhoods and our towns. We still await action by the government.
I want to acknowledge the tireless work of our frontline service providers and victims’ services, including my own in Haliburton–Kawartha Lakes–Brock that provide an invaluable service.”