3rd-party reporting under consideration for P.E.I. sex assault survivors

Provincial officials and community groups in P.E.I. are exploring the possibility of offering third-party reporting on the Island in hopes of getting more people to report sexualized violence.

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Under third-party reporting, an assault survivor speaks with a trained service provider instead of with police.

TheRCMP has been asking for this option to be made available in jurisdictions where it is not currently offered.

Police would be able to access the information, but it would not include the victim'sname.

"If the police later detected a trend that may suggest, for example, a serial offender, the police would then request the service provider to contact the survivor and give them an opportunity to assist the police in an investigation," said Sigrid Rolfe, the organizational coordinator of the P.E.I. Rape and Sexual Assault Centre.

Third-party reporting ensures there is a record of the attack so that if a victim decides to proceed with a case, the details have been recorded when their memory was fresh.

British Columbia and Yukon currently offer third-party reporting.

Rape kit info could be stored

Another suggestionis called the third option. Forensic information is collected using a rape kit, but the kit is stored to give victims time to decide whether they want to report the assault to police.

Currently if a kit is collected at a P.E.I. hospital, the assault is immediately reported to police.

"Often people need time to talk to family, friends,to figure out what happened," said Rolfe. "To determine what the best course of action for them is going to be."

Inother jurisdictions the kits are stored in a secure location at hospitals forsix months to a year.

A similar program, called Kits on Ice, has been offered in the Yukon for about five years.

"What we've heard from other jurisdictions is that the numbers do go up when the option is offered," said Rolfe, noting that usually happens within the first few weeks after an assault.

"Giving survivors more choices is a way of hopefully improving all the outcomes."

P.E.I.'s sexual assault response committee is looking at the possible changes.

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