Study explores lack of access to sexual assault evidence kits in northwestern Ontario

WARNING: This story contains references to sexual assault.

Sexual assault evidence kits are not as accessible in northwestern Ontario as in other parts of the province, a new study has found, making it harder for those in marginalized communities to seek justice.

The kits, known as SAEKs, collect DNA which may be used in court to prosecute a sexual assault, explained Sydney Timmermans, the lead author of the study, titled "Not Without Judgment: Sociocultural Barriers to Accessing Sexual Assault Evidence Kits in Rural and Remote Northwestern Ontario."

They also allow convicted offenders' DNA to be entered into a national crime database, which helps identify serial offenders and prevent future assaults.

“These exams can take sometimes up to four hours to complete, and really you should be having them done with someone who has a trauma-informed care aspect, where they're making sure you're consenting each step because you just went through something very traumatic,” Timmermans said.

The report said about 40 per cent of Canadian hospitals either don’t have sexual assault evidence kits available or don’t have staff trained to use them.

“Usually folks in smaller rural centres don't have the training unless it was perhaps covered in their training for nursing or medicine, which we found a lot of folks actually didn't say it was mentioned at all,” Timmermans said.

There are only four Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centres in the northwest, located in Kenora, Sioux Lookout, Dryden and Thunder Bay. These centres provide comprehensive care to sexual assault survivors, with on-call physicians and sexual assault nurse examiners trained to conduct forensic examinations following an assault.

But with these centres being few and far between, survivors often end up going to the nearest emergency department rather than receiving specialized care, said Timmermans.

Meanwhile, “northern and rural regions experience some of the highest sexual assault rates, especially among Indigenous women and girls, with 46 per cent of this demographic experiencing sexual violence,” the report says.

In addition to the logistical barriers around accessing sexual assault evidence kits, sociocultural factors also play a role, Timmermans said. 

For example, she said survivors have reported facing judgments related to substance use, police involvement and institutional racism.

“If they wanted to call the police or if they were brought in in police custody, that could impact the credibility that was given to them by health-care providers,” she said.

The presence of drugs or alcohol also adds complications around consent, she added.