Low reporting rates for sexual violence reveal a lot about the need for specialized services that prioritize safety, choice and long-term support beyond the traditional justice system.
Despite decades of advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and law reform, the vast majority of sexual violence in Canada still goes unreported. According to Statistics Canada, fewer than one in twenty sexual assaults are reported to police – a number that speaks volumes about survivors’ experiences and unmet needs.
For legal professionals and policymakers, this presents the question: What does this silence say about the systems meant to support survivors?
The answer points to a need for more than procedural reforms. It requires a fundamental shift toward sexual violence trauma-informed, specialized, distinct and identifiable services that prioritize survivor safety, choice, and long-term support – services that extend beyond traditional justice channels.
The Many Reasons Survivors Don’t Report
Survivors choose not to report for many valid, often overlapping reasons. Common barriers include:
- Fear of not being believed or being blamed
- Anticipation of re-traumatization during police investigations or court proceedings
- Lack of trust in institutions, particularly among Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, disabled, and immigrant survivors
- Personal safety concerns, especially in cases involving domestic or intimate partner violence
- Internalized shame, stigma, or guilt
These are not failures of character or will. They are logical responses to systems that too often fail to provide safe, timely, or validating responses to sexual violence.
Why Supports Fall Short
It’s essential to recognize that the impact of sexual violence is not just a subset of general trauma. It requires a distinct, sexual violence trauma-informed response and approach. Generic helplines or counselling services, or non-specialized legal professionals, however well-intentioned, often lack the training, sensitivity, or continuity of care that survivors need.
Survivors report being dismissed, invalidated, or retraumatized by non-specialized service providers. Without specialized knowledge of consent, power dynamics, memory processing after trauma, and the social stigma surrounding sexual violence, professionals can unintentionally cause harm. When that happens, survivors may disengage entirely, reinforcing the silence around sexual violence we’ve seen for decades.
The Case for Specialized, Distinct and Identifiable Services
Specialized sexual violence services are built to address these complexities. They offer:
- Survivor-centered care that prioritizes the safety, autonomy, and well-being of survivors by providing compassionate, nonjudgmental, and trauma-informed support tailored to each person’s needs and choices
- Sexual violence trauma-informed counselling therapy that reflects the realities of sexual violence recovery
- Crisis support from trained professionals who understand how sexual violence trauma manifests and the importance of the right response from their first word
- Systems navigation that helps survivors access police, legal aid, health care, housing, or other services when they’re ready
- Education and prevention that challenge myths and stigma and build community safety.
- Police and court support that provides support, information, advocacy, and accompaniment throughout the legal process.
Community-based sexual assault centres in Alberta deliver these services.
Legal Systems Are Only One Part of the Solution
While improving survivor experiences within the justice system remains vital – through trauma-informed policing, Crown education, and legal reforms – reporting to police is not the only door to support. Survivors deserve services that respect their right to choose if, when, and how they come forward.
Access to meaningful, trauma-informed care which provides information, choice and control often increases survivors’ confidence to eventually engage with the legal system – on their own terms.
What We Can Do
Low reporting rates are often interpreted as a problem of justice access, but they are actually evidence of broader systemic gaps. Survivors of sexual violence are not silent because they lack need. They are silent because they are navigating a system that was not designed for their healing.
If we are serious about ending gender-based violence and ensuring justice for survivors, we must invest not only in legal infrastructure but also in the full continuum of sexual violence services. This work must be led by experts, grounded in sexual violence trauma-informed principles, and responsive to the diverse realities of survivors across Alberta.
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DISCLAIMER The information in this article was correct at time of publishing. The law may have changed since then. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of LawNow or the Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta.
About Cheryl Wallach
