Many victims/survivors of sexual violence do not access support services and/or report the assault to police for many reasons. Mainly women identify that they fear blame, disbelief, or judgment from those they disclose to. Men who are survivors of sexual violence often remain silent out of fear of stigma about their sexual orientation. Minority women; members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community; new Canadians and women with disabilities may remain silent out of fear of discrimination, racism, homophobia, language barriers and limited access to services. Many people feel that they are further victimized by the very legal system that is supposed to protect them. Individuals who do access support services report that they have experienced further trauma at the hands of support providers. Often, professionals are unsure of how to respond to victims of sexual violence or are unaware of available services. They may have concerns about their professional liability or legal responsibility and how sexual assault and the law affect this. In response, Avalon Sexual Assault Centre developed the project entitled: Sexual Assault Legal Education Training: Improving the Service Provider’s Response to Survivors of Sexual Violence.

The overall objective of the project is: to reduce the barriers that sexually assaulted women experience in accessing the criminal justice system by improving the overall legal knowledge of a variety of professional groups who provide services to those women. In order to accomplish this, each year for the past four years, Avalon has applied for and received funding to implement this project from the Law Foundation of Nova Scotia. In 2001, the focus of the project was to identify the sexual assault legal education and training needs for service providers and to identify who was in need of this training. During the 2002 project year, we focused on developing educational resources and training workshops. Provincial training conferences were held during the first two project years and individual training programs with various agencies were held both years and in the third year of the project. Also in 2003, the emphasis of the project changed from conducting customized individual workshops delivered to a select group of service providers to broader distribution and marketing of the materials and training to a more diverse range of professionals across the province. We have accumulated all of the sexual assault legal education and training materials into four comprehensive resource/training manuals:

• How Can I Help? A Supporter’s Guide to the Medical and Legal Systems After Sexual Assault
• What Service Providers Need to Know: Professional Issues Regarding Confidentiality, Record-keeping and Reporting Sexual Violence
• Secondary Wounding and the Legal System: A Guide for Legal and Law Enforcement Professionals Working with Victims/Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Sexual Assault Awareness and Response Training for Support Providers/Advocates and First responders.

This is a companion manual to How Can I Help. Entitled What do I do now? It is avalible to victims/survivors of sexual violence. The manuals will be available for distribution in a variety of ways: such as paper copy, and electronically (i.e. on Avalon’s website). The materials may be used for training and education purposes, when working with clients, as a reference when developing resources, conducting research, or writing papers etc. They can be used in entirety or as individual handouts. They can also be used for display and distribution purposes.

These manuals provide a feminist understanding of the underlying issues of male sexual violence against women, of the law pertaining to sexual assault, the options and rights of victims of sexual violence, and of the important role that anti-violence advocates and support providers play. The manuals were developed for use by a cross section of service providers who work with victims/survivors of sexual violence. Therefore, the language, terminology and references used include feminist, medical, legal and therapeutic influences. As much as possible, we have included explanations, definitions, and examples to make the information accessible to a wide audience of readers.

Avalon Sexual Assault Centre strives to eradicate male violence against women and children and provides direct counseling, support and advocacy services for female victims/survivors of sexual violence ages 16 and older. We believe that sexual violence continues to exist because of patriarchal power imbalances that exist between men and women and are perpetuated and condoned in our society. One of Avalon’s many roles is to change understanding and attitudes and to influence policy and law. Our understanding of the root causes of sexual violence informs our work including the programs, services, educational resources, and training workshops that we provide. It is reflected in our mandate, mission statement, policies, procedures, protocols, and in our day-to-day work and interactions with clients, the general public and other services providers, assault victims as “she” and addresses these issues as they pertain to women. Sexual violence is a crime of power and control that is used to instill fear and submission. Often there is a perceived right to commit sexual assault as a result of entitlement, relationship to the victim, in war, and/or as a result of beliefs about the victim. This dynamic of violence in the context of power and control is reflected in all acts of sexual violence regardless of the sex of the perpetrator or of the victim.

Therefore some of our literature also makes references to both male and female victims. This is in recognition that sexual assault occurs within same sex relationships (i.e. gay or lesbian partnerships) or can occur when the victim and perpetrator are of the same sex (i.e. parent/child of same sex). The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program (SANE) that is offered by Avalon Sexual Assault Centre responds to both female and male victims of immediate sexual assault. Avalon provides information and referral to male victims and partners with other agencies to promote awareness of and to advocate for more services for male survivors of sexual violence. This is also reflected in our resources.

The educational materials included within the four resource/training manuals reflect that factors such as sex, sexual orientation, race, religious or cultural beliefs, abilities/disabilities, life style choices, and financial status all affect how victims/survivors deal with sexual violence and also impacts how service providers respond to them. Through a better understanding of sexual assault and issues pertaining to victims, along with an improved knowledge of sexual assault and the law; service providers can better understand their roles in assisting victims/survivors to empower themselves, make informed decisions, and access support and legal services. Changes in attitudes, laws, legislations, policies, and procedures pertaining to sexual violence; and in how service providers individually and collectively respond to victims are steps toward creating a society where sexual violence of every kind is condemned and eliminated.