Thank you very much, Chair and honourable members.
I'm Dr. Charlene Senn, professor of psychology at the University of Windsor and a tier 1 Canada research chair in sexual violence. I'm a social psychologist whose research focuses on prevention of sexual violence on university campuses and for younger high school-age girls. I'm an expert on sexual violence prevention generally and on sexual assault resistance and bystander education interventions particularly.
Your committee's work is focused on girls' and young women's mental health. My testimony to you today, in a nutshell, is that unless and until we address the realities of sexual violence experienced by girls and young women, and put efforts into preventing sexual violence, our country will not be successful in improving girls' and women's mental health.
Sexual violence creates numerous physical and mental health consequences, some of which are specifically named in the motion. If we focus only on mental health supports, then we are mitigating harm but not preventing more citizens from experiencing the harm in the first place.
I care deeply about and want to combat all sexual violence. However, the vast majority of victims are girls and women, our focus today. Cisgender men and boys are 98% of the perpetrators of sexual violence against girls and women, and most are known to the victims, not strangers.
How big is this problem? Young women are at higher risk of sexual assault than women over 25. By conservative estimates, on university campuses one in five women will experience sexual assault before graduation. However, research shows that 50% of the rapes that women experience occur by the time they are 18, which means we need to start earlier in our prevention efforts.
In a recent study we conducted in Ontario with teen girls, we asked about their experiences of unwanted sexual contact and rape since the age of 14 by male peers. For this study, male peers included boyfriends, friends, classmates and strangers who were not adults, so these are underestimates.
One in three girls reported experiencing unwanted sexual contact as a result of the guy telling lies, threatening to end the relationship or spread rumours about her, making false promises, showing displeasure, criticizing her or getting angry. Almost one in four girls had experienced oral, vaginal or anal rape accomplished with threats of force, force, or alcohol or drug facilitation; and one in five had experienced attempted rape.
Young women also report being repeatedly asked, pressured or coerced into sending nudes. In a recent U.S. study, between 12% and 40% of teen girls reported sending a sexual message or image because they were pressured to do it. We know this can have mental health consequences, especially when these images are then shared without their consent. We call this image-based sexual abuse.
The physical health effects of sexual violence include unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, increased cigarette smoking and alcohol and drug consumption, and many others. Psychological effects include depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation, lack of sexual enjoyment, and fear. Fear of rape also affects the quality of life for young women who are not sexual assault survivors, leading them to restrict their movements as a precautionary strategy and limiting their employment, education and recreational opportunities.
Research clearly supports the need for increased resources for sexual assault crisis centres and other experts in providing trauma-informed care to survivors to address the varied physical and mental health outcomes of sexual violence—but this point is often made. I am directing your attention to the fact that prevention of sexual violence is equally important.
The Flip the Script with EAAA program that I developed for women in university is an example of the impact we can have. Participation in the program reduced the risk of attempted and completed rape in the next 12 months by 50% and reduced self-blame, which is linked to worse mental health outcomes if women did experience rape. An adapted version of the program for girls 14 to 17 is being tested in a randomized control trial starting in January with Public Health Agency of Canada funds.
You should know that research also suggests that providing comprehensive sex education supports prevention efforts. Sexual violence prevention takes time, resources and expertise, and requires dedicated investment.
Thank you.