As sexual assault rates rise, provinces face shortages of specially trained nurses
![Martha Paynter Martha Paynter is seen at Dalhousie University in Halifax on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/2/2/martha-paynter-1-6257134-1675359531182.jpg)
As rates of sexual assault climb across Canada, nursing experts say there is a shortage of specially trained forensic nurses to properly care for victims.
Timely care from a well-trained forensic nurse can help stave off a cascade of post-traumatic effects, including depression, anxiety and even suicide, said Sheila Early, president of the Canadian Forensic Nurses Association.
"I always thought that as an emergency nurse, what I did was I put Band-Aids on these individuals. But as a forensic nurse, I helped them make that first step to whatever recovery that will come," Early said in a recent interview.
Sexual assault nurse examiners are forensic nurses trained to collect evidence from sexual assault and domestic violence victims, and to help them cope with trauma. They can also be called to testify in court. Their expertise requires hours of dedicated training -- at least 60 hours in Nova Scotia, plus observation training in a gynecological practice, said Martha Paynter, an assistant nursing professor at the University of New Brunswick.
"Their evidence gathering is a very different type of nursing work," Paynter said in an interview. It's also "extremely traumatizing work," she said, "and it takes somebody who really wants to do it."
Despite the emotional toll and the extensive training they carry, sexual assault nurse examiner positions are often casual roles, requiring the nurse to juggle on-call hours on top of their full-time nursing jobs, said both Paynter and Early. In the midst of a health-care crisis and widespread nursing shortages, it's no wonder some provinces are struggling to find nurses who will take on the extra load, they said.
New Brunswick's Vitalite Health Network cancelled training planned for February because too few nurses signed up, officials confirmed in a recent email. In the health region covering Labrador and parts of northern Newfoundland, officials confirmed they too put off training the region's first sexual assault nurse examiners after too few nurses responded to a call for interest last year.
The Labrador-Grenfell health authority said it will issue another call for interest this week.
There are also forensic nurse shortages in Ontario and Saskatchewan, according to nurses unions in those provinces.
"Dedicated funding is required to ensure every sexual assault (and) domestic violence centre in Ontario can provide 24-7 access to (sexual assault nurse examiners) for survivors," said a statement from the Ontario Nurses' Association, adding that it was "deeply concerned" about the shortage.
Meanwhile, Statistics Canada reports that the rate of police-reported sexual assaults in Canada rose by 18 per cent in 2021 compared to the year before, with the highest increases in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick. In 2020, the rate of sexual assault in Labrador was six times the national average.
Paynter said nurses need to be given more flexibility to take on other duties and training.
"A lot of nurses would love to do this work," she said. "So how do we make the whole sector more flexible so that people can fit in these other things? We know that nurses are happier, they're most fulfilled when their scope is broadest."
Early said sexual assault nurse examiner expertise should be recognized as a specialty designation by the Canadian Nurses Association. That way, she said, there would be more funding for training and positions. The association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Early helped found British Columbia's first forensic nursing program in the early 1990s. In the decades since, change has been slow, but it has come, Early said, noting that some provinces are making efforts to offer full-time instead of casual jobs.
In Manitoba, health officials recently hired full-time forensic nurses after sexual assault victims were turned away from a Winnipeg hospital. The victims were told to avoid showering and come back when a specially trained nurse was available, said Darlene Jackson, president of the Manitoba Nurses Union.
New Brunswick's Horizon Health network is also expanding its forensic nurse examiner program in part by hiring full-time staff, officials confirmed Thursday in an email. The move comes after CBC reported last fall that an alleged rape victim was turned away from a Fredericton hospital and told not to wash until she could return when a forensic nurse was on shift.
Early said she's like to see more provinces make the job permanent.
"Violence is a public health-care issue. So why don't we deal with it on that level?"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 2, 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6971614.1721493887!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Hazmat response to north London, Ont. apartment complex
Circumstances around a deceased individual in an apartment raise concerns for first responders.
Workplace habit of 'coffee badging' prompts reported new policy at Amazon
The term 'coffee badging' has gained some new significance this week with multiple outlets reporting Amazon is allegedly taking measures to counter the workplace trend it refers to.
Secret Service chief noted a 'zero fail mission.' After Trump rally, she's facing calls to resign
When Kimberly Cheatle led the Secret Service's operations to safeguard the American president and other dignitaries, she said she would talk to agents in training about the 'awesome responsibility' of their job.
NEW THIS MORNING How to protect yourself from West Nile virus
It's been a hot, humid and wet summer so far in Ottawa, making it the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and elevating the risk of West Nile virus.
Meet some of the world's cleanest pigs, raised to grow kidneys and hearts for humans
The first gene-edited pig organs ever transplanted into people came from animals born on this special research farm in the Blue Ridge mountains..
Russia says it scrambled fighter jets to intercept U.S. bomber planes over Barents Sea
Russia said Sunday it scrambled fighter jets to intercept two U.S. military long-range bomber aircraft that approached the Russian border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
Canadian musicians struggle to get visas to perform in the U.S., some cancel shows
Backlogs and processing delays of temporary U.S. visas required by entertainers, athletes and artists has forced some Canadian bands to cancel U.S. tour dates because paperwork wasn't processed in time.
Israel shoots down a missile fired from Yemen hours after an Israeli strike on Houthi rebels
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen early Sunday, hours after Israeli warplanes struck several Houthi targets in the Arabian peninsula country.
‘It looks scary, but they’re harmless’: Bees removed from Winnipeg street light
A swarm of bees living in a lamppost in Winnipeg’s Sage Creek neighbourhood has found a new home for its hive.