Photo: Liam Verster / EverythingGP staff

By Liam Verster

Sexual Violence Awareness Month

Public education the key focus for PACE during Sexual Violence Awareness month

May 7, 2021 | 2:13 PM

May is Sexual Violence Awareness month in Alberta and PACE, the community support, sexual assault and trauma centre in Grande Prairie, is using the month to provide some new, startling data on sexual assaults in the province.

In 2020, the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres recreated a study last done in 1983. The original Badgley Report found that 22 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys in Alberta were victims of some sort of sexual abuse before the age of 18.

Jacquie Aitken, the Executive Director of PACE in Grande Prairie, says in recreating the study, they found those figures had risen dramatically.

“The statistics (for 2020) were 44 per cent of girls and 24 per cent of boys had experienced unwanted sexual acts (before the age of 18).”

The study found that the abuse was most likely to be caused by a male that was known to the victim, but did not live in the same home. Strangers were less likely to commit child sexual abuse, but when they did it most likely was in the form of exposing themselves and/or touching themselves in front of the child.

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The study also found that adults in Alberta also experienced a lot of sexual assault.

“When we looked at the total population and whether someone would experience a sexual assault as an adult, 41 per cent of females and 18 per cent of males had experienced a sexual assault over the age of 18.”

Aitken says these instances of childhood trauma often have a direct correlation with mental and physical illness.

“Some of the things we’ve known for a long time about sexual abuse is there was a higher rate of addiction and suicide attempts and self harm in someone who had been sexually abused as a child.”

Aitken adds that victims of childhood trauma often wind up in a cycle of abuse, and have a tendency to end up in a relationship where they are subjected to domestic abuse.

In order to address that issue, PACE is offering a free, one-day virtual program to the public to teach people how to recognize the signs, how to broach the subject, and what to do to help people break the cycle and seek supports.

Those who wish to participate in the free Integrating Knowledge of Sexual Abuse and Intimate Partner Violence course must register in advance by emailing askpace@pacecentre.com.