The first point, as Amanda said, is the trauma-informed law and education. We hear constantly from sexual assault complainants who interact with the justice system that they are re-traumatized throughout the process. When speaking with the police, they are not taken seriously, or police questioning insinuates or blatantly blames the victims. If their cases make it to trial, they do not have their own counsel. They are met with a hostile cross-examination by the defence counsel, and in some recent horrific examples, they are stereotyped and misunderstood by the judges.
The clinic submits that Bill C-51 should establish trauma-informed education around sexual assault at all levels of the justice system, trauma-informed education that instructs actors in the justice system to recognize and be sensitive to the impacts of violence and the symptoms of trauma. This is required for them to understand common manifestations of trauma and the emotional response of survivors to people in positions of power, authority figures, and others, moreover to recognize their own expectations with respect to the functioning of the legal clients, and how to problem solve when a client cannot engage with the system as they wish or expect. This is even more important in the wake of the fact that Canadian law has already recognized this education is crucial to the justice system.
The second point is access to counsel and the need for funding and resources. It is worth noting that sexual assault is still widely under-reported across Canada. The 2004 general social survey on victimization concluded that only 8% of sexual assaults were reported to the police. Some of the factors listed in our previous submission of course contribute to this.
Another experience we hear about from sexual assault complainants is that once they have come forward and disclosed their story to the police, they are left alone to navigate the complexities of the legal system on their own. They're not updated regularly on their case. They're not provided with information on their case, or if information is provided, it's too little. There is limited opportunity for them to participate meaningfully in the process, and when they do, they are not provided with any direction or advice.
The clinic submits that government-funded legal representation should be provided to the complainants throughout the justice system process, and not only, as suggested, for the rape shield proceedings. The clinic is the only community agency site for independent legal advice for sexual assault survivors. It's a pilot project from the Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario. The clinic has seen a 40% increase in the overall support costs since the beginning of the project last year. We have in total served over 200 clients through this project in the last 15 months, with the possibility of only one full-time equivalent position.