Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Pam Krause, and I am the president and CEO of the Centre for Sexuality. I am also a proud member of the Calgary LGBTQ community. I've worked and volunteered as an advocate on equality and social justice in the local non-profit community for 20 years. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this important consultation.
The Centre for Sexuality is a nationally recognized prevention-focused organization that delivers evidence-based programs and services to normalize sexuality and improve sexual health. We've been leading the way in the areas of sexuality, healthy relationships, human rights and consent for 48 years in Calgary. We serve over 40,000 people in Alberta annually thanks to our many partnerships with schools, community groups, health agencies and corporate partners.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an extraordinary disruption to the social fabric of our country. It has exacerbated existing crises and stretched limited resources beyond their breaking points. Urgent action is needed to protect those Canadians who are most vulnerable because of this pandemic.
Every six days a woman in Canada is killed by a current or former intimate partner. Domestic abuse rates in Alberta are at a 10-year peak. Study after study demonstrates that during times of economic stress and high social anxiety, gender-based violence rates skyrocket. The United Nations has called this the “shadow pandemic”.
Before the pandemic started, our support resources were already stretched. Last year, the Calgary police responded to almost 25,000 calls related to domestic violence. Over 23,000 Alberta women, children and seniors requesting admission to shelters were turned away in the last two years. Women's Shelters Canada released a report showing that 60% of shelters across Canada have reported significant increases in calls and requests since March. The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services reported a 57% increase in people reaching out for help since the beginning of the pandemic.
This comes with a real-world cost. A Justice Canada study estimates the economic cost of domestic violence in Canada to be as much as $7.4 billion per year.
The Government of Canada should make new investments to ensure that we are rebuilding a society that treats people humanely and equitably. There are proven programs, including our own WiseGuyz program, which can be scaled up to advance this goal, but we're in desperate need of additional resources.
Canada's gender-based violence strategy will enter its second-to-last fiscal year in 2021. We ask you to recommend that the government renew this program now, with new funding and increased focus on prevention.
As we emerge from this pandemic and lockdowns are lifted, we can expect normal behaviours to return to daily life. Many psychological experts anticipate an increase in, or at minimum normal, sexual activity levels post-lockdown.
Before COVID-19, Canada was already facing an epidemic of sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections—STBBIs. Chlamydia and gonorrhea infection rates have been increasing across Canada. Alberta is in the midst of a syphilis outbreak, with infection rates at a 70-year high. As Canadians re-engage in normal pre-lockdown sexual practices, there is a significant risk that these already high infections rates will spike further.
The risks are even more dangerous given that much of Canada's public health infrastructure has been under immense strain. Many sexual health information centres are operating on reduced hours, and testing clinics have shifted focus to COVID. Researchers from the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS recently projected that a 50% disruption to HIV services due to COVID could lead to a 9% increase in new infection rates.
There is an economic case for investing in STBBI prevention, as one study estimates the economic loss attributed to those infected with HIV to be $4 billion, or $1.3 million per person infected.
Sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne infections disproportionately affect marginalized communities, which creates a vicious cycle when combined with other barriers, like stigma, racism and poverty, that mitigate access to sexual health care.
The Public Health Agency of Canada provides $26.4 million annually to community health organizations in Canada through the HIV and hepatitis C community action fund.
To combat this looming sexual health crisis, we ask you to recommend an increase of $50 million annually to address the growing STBBI rates across Canada.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating. I urge all of you to recommend new investments to ensure that we emerge from this pandemic as a more just and inclusive society.
Thank you very much. I would be happy to answer any of your questions.