Associate Minister of Status of Women, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk during a news conference on Tuesday, October 4, 2022. The province is investing $1 million to help survivors of sexual assault in Alberta. (Government of Alberta - YourAlberta on YouTube)

By Justin Goulet/LethbridgeNewsNOW

Training Program Investment

Province investing $1 million to assist rural victims of sexual assault

Oct 5, 2022 | 1:56 PM

The province has announced an investment to help survivors of sexual assault.

The Government of Alberta is investing $1 million to launch a new forensic evidence collection training program. Officials stated that all survivors of sexual assault deserve access to care and the collection of forensic evidence, no matter where they live. Unfortunately, in some cases, survivors who live in rural and remote areas often need to travel significant distances to access a forensic exam.

This latest made-in-Alberta project will boost the number of healthcare providers in rural areas that are trained in providing sexual assault evidence kits. It will be piloted with a group of healthcare providers across rural Alberta and will include grants so providers can access training free of charge.

Associate Minister of Status of Women, Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk said, “It’s time to work together to close the gap and make sure all sexual assault survivors in Alberta have access to evidence collection, regardless of where an assault occurs.”

The province believes that increasing access to evidence collection will empower survivors to report crimes committed against them.

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Sexual violence crimes have the lowest reporting rate among violent crimes in Canada. According to the Government of Alberta, it is estimated that only 6% of these crimes are ever reported to police and at the same time, these crimes have a low conviction rate of only 0.3 per cent.