Rachel Notley says consent to be part of K-12 Alberta school curriculums

A group of 10 government ministries and community organizations is to meet to build on previous provincial initiatives to combat sexual violence.

The province’s commitment on dealing with sexual assault has three pillars:

— Shift the culture towards believing survivors, challenging harmful myths and building a culture of consent
— Improve the way Alberta’s social, health, justice and education systems respond to sexual violence
— Support individuals by funding frontline services for survivors and delivering education and prevention programs

The province has already made legislative changes to allow sexual violence survivors more latitude in filing civil claims and to get out of leases without penalty.

Since 2015, the Alberta government has invested almost $52 million to support a range of programs and services to prevent sexual violence and support survivors – including:

— Provided more supports for survivors of sexual violence with a historic $8.1 million investment to increase access to counselling and cut wait times, add police and court support and provide crisis help in more communities.
— A $1.2 million grant over three years at the Zebra Child Protection Centre for mental health support and counselling services for survivors of sexual and physical child abuse.
— Increased funding by $25 million to help Family and Community Support Services address sexual violence, family violence, gender inequality and to promote healthy relationships.
— Funded the successful #IBelieveYou campaign to promote a cultural shift toward supporting survivors and breaking the silence around sexual violence.
— Boosted funding for women’s shelters by $15 million to help ensure no woman fleeing violence is turned away.
— Increased access to the legal system for survivors by removing the time limit for to bring forward civil claims.
— Made it easier for survivors to get out of dangerous situations by allowing them to break residential leases without financial penalty.
— Provided $80,000 grant from Status of Women to stage a play about consent in high schools to educate teens about gender equality and healthy relationships.

Statistics show that sexual violence is the most under-reported crime in Canada, with 95 per cent of survivors not reporting their assaults to police. As well, sexual violence most often affects women and girls, with 87 per cent of survivors being women and 94 per cent of perpetrators are men.

In 2014, 83,000 Albertans reported sexual assaults.

by The Canadian Press with files from Goveernment of Alberta

Rachel Notley says consent to be part of K-12 Alberta school curriculums

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