Unfortunately, there's not a lot.
I think the assumption is that, because we have a duty to report, the police and CAS are the appropriate services when somebody under 16 has been harmed. It's assumed that we call them and let them handle that. We know a lot of those scenarios, again, are incredibly harmful and come with a lot of stigma. People might not be treated in the right way.
Yes, of course I can call the police for something when it's somebody under 16. If they decide there's not enough evidence, I can't offer counselling. I'm stuck saying, “Here is a child and youth centre that has a one- or two-year wait-list, potentially.” I don't know if it's changed, but over COVID, in Peterborough, we were looking at at least two years for most of our child and youth service wait-list. I cannot guarantee the workers—who I am sure are wonderful at their jobs—have the specific training to work with survivors of sexual abuse, which often needs different ways of looking at it. We often can't use a particular modality without making some changes to make it more trauma-informed.
Unfortunately, those are our options right now. We're left in a position of not having a lot for people.