Thank you so much for inviting us today.
My name is Brittany McMillan. I'm the executive director at the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, which is one of the many sexual assault centres in Ontario. Our core funding comes from the provincial government through the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, also known as MCCSS. We're a small agency that receives just under $320,000 per year as our core funding model.
Jordanne is with me to help support with any questions that may be more clinical or client-specific. She is the manager of client services and also leads our human trafficking response team.
Today I will highlight the significant impact that sexual violence has on the mental health of women and girls. I will also discuss the need to mitigate such long-term mental health concerns for survivors and the need for more prevention and education in the field of sexual violence.
Women who have been sexually assaulted are more than twice as likely as male victims to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, with PTSD symptoms lasting up to four times longer than in males. According to the DSM-5, some of the highest rates of PTSD are found among survivors of rape, with rates ranging from one third to more than a half of rape survivors. PTSD is commonly associated with other mental health conditions, and is not the only mental health disorder that may develop after a sexual assault. Survivors may also develop conditions that include complex post-traumatic stress disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders and substance use disorders.
The risk for these related conditions may be greater for individuals who experienced a sexual assault at a younger age. Girls who were sexually abused in childhood are at an increased risk of being sexually assaulted as adolescents and adults, which further increases the risk of developing mental health disorders.
I want to note here that unfortunately we aren't funded to support people under the age of 16, leaving a huge gap in our services for young girls.
In 2021, approximately 19.24 million women were living in Canada. Across their lifetime, it is estimated that one in three women and girls will experience sexual violence at least once. We believe that because of low reporting, these statistics do not reflect the reality. This means that at least 6.41 million women and girls in Canada will experience sexual violence. It's also important to note that the population in our catchment area is about 320,000 people.
It is not just the numbers that are increasing. Many professionals in our field are anecdotally reporting that the intensity of sexual assaults is increasing, including an increase in physical injuries and strangulations. At the same time, it is important that we are clear that these numbers are not just due to the pandemic. The rates of sexual violence against women and girls have long been staggering.
We have a recommended action plan. Women who are believed and not blamed, and who are offered support and treatment after a sexual assault, are less likely to develop long-term mental health impacts. Therapy, support groups and self-help strategies can help survivors cope with and heal from PTSD and other mental health symptoms.
The sexual assault centres across the province of Ontario, and surely throughout Canada, are very much underfunded. If more core funding was invested into these agencies, survivors of sexual violence would get better access to supports in a timely manner, which would prevent many instances of long-term mental health struggles.
Prevention and education also need to be a priority. In Ontario, many sexual assault centres have taken this role on with minimal funding, as we know that the impact is so valuable. If we can get to the young boys and teach them the core foundations around the issues surrounding sexual violence, consent, toxic masculinity and the patriarchy, we will see the rates of sexual violence go down. We are currently prioritizing this training to hockey associations in order for Canada's sport to be a safer space for everyone. We also need to prioritize male allyship programming.
In conclusion, I just want to say that we're change-makers. We get into this field because we want to make changes. The unfortunate reality is that we can't do that as well as we can with the limited funding we currently receive as a core funding model.