Crisis groups applaud police chief's commitment to sexual assault reviews

The number of sexual assault cases that are classified as "unfounded" by Sudbury police will be under review, says chief Paul Pedersen. Local groups that deal with crisis are welcoming the move.

A recent Globe and Mail investigation discovered that one in five complaints are labelled as unfounded by Canadian police forces and the rate is closer to one in three in northern Ontario.

The numbers show that between 2010 and 2014, 314 of the 939 sexual assault complaints called into Sudbury police were deemed "unfounded," representing 33 per cent.

Gaetane Pharand, executive director at Centre Victoria pour Femmes, a sexual assault crisis centre for francophone women, brokered a meeting between Sudbury's police and community groups to help local law enforcement see cases of sexual assault from the victim's point of view.

Groups can provide a 'lens' into victims' perspective

Pharand said the groups needed to know why the number of unfounded cases, currently around 400, is so high. And they can provide, in turn, valuable insight—  a "lens" — into how and why women may not come forward.

"We went over what constitutes an unfounded case and we understand that within those numbers, there were cases where they couldn't find the perpetrator or the person being accused," Pharand said.

"[But] all kinds of things happen... like the victim doesn't want to go forward because it's too difficult for her. Because it's difficult, it might force her to relive it," she said.

Authorities not exempt from systemic victim-blaming

Pharand said she was surprised about Sudbury's numbers, but said having the numbers in front of both groups provides a good starting point for conversation.

"We do know that anything around sexual assault is very difficult. We have a tendency to blame the victims," Pharand said.

"We've been socialized to criticize and judge other people and we do that in our personal life and we bring it into our professional life. Police officers, lawyers, social workers are not exempt from that."

"If that happens in a society, it's going to happen within a system," she said.

Police forced to 'sit up and take notice'

Chief Pedersen said the report of unfounded cases had Sudbury police "sit up and take notice."

And he has committed to an entire review the 400 cases on file.

"We know sexual assaults are one of the most un-reported crimes," Pedersen said, "and one of the barriers of reporting the crime is the impression and the feelings [victims] get from the officers when they disclose these horrendous crimes."

"We'll look at what we need to do differently, what can be done differently," he added, "and if there is funds on a provincial level to help deal with some of the inconsistencies that I know we'll see across the province, then we'll support that."

'If we clear the numbers, that's not enough'

Pharand said their work isn't done, even with the chief's commitment.

"We will not be able to say publicly that this has moved forward well enough until there's a process in place that will be an ongoing process," she said.

"If we clear the numbers, that's not enough. We can't drop it from there. We have to continue the work so that we build a Sudbury model with the realities of our communities, the context, the organizations, the people and the capacity of those organizations, including the police."