As sexual assault rates rise, provinces face shortages of specially trained nurses
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
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.