More than half a million dollars in federal funding has been announced for a Sudbury organization to do research for collecting evidence on behalf of survivors of sexual assault in rural and remote communities.
The funding was announced by Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe and Lisa Hepfner, the parliamentary secretary to the minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth, who spoke at a news event at Tom Davies Square.
The overall announcement was roughly $19 million for 34 organizations to prevent and address gender-based violence in Ontario and across the country, said a news release.
The Sudbury funding is being directed to She Matters, a community organization in Sudbury that is working on research into collecting forensic evidence for survivors of sexual assault.
Lapointe told the news conference that since 2018, no less than 44 per cent of women in Canada — more than six million people — reported experiencing some form of intimate partner violence in their life.
"This is, as we all know, unacceptable, whether it's here or anywhere in Canada. And these statistics along with the stories that we hear, they are horrific. And as a government, we have been taking action to make sure that shelters, sexual assault centers and organizations that assist survivors, can keep their doors open," said Lapointe.
She said she was proud to announce that the Liberal government was able to sign agreements in every province and territory to get frontline funding to organizations dedicated to ending gender-based violence across Canada.
She said the federal grant to She Matters was $530,000 for spending on the project called "Does Geography Impact Access to Justice? Access to Evidence Collection in Rural and Remote Communities".
For her part, Hepfner said the Sudbury funding was one element of a larger announcement directed to organizations seeking to end gender based violence.
"I am proud to announce that up to $19 million in federal funding to 34 organizations in Ontario (and Canada), working to end gender-based violence. This is funding that will help these organizations prevent and address gender based violence and find long lasting solutions for their communities," said Hepfner.
"I've noticed that there are many allies to She Matters in the room here today. It's really important. And it's about community-based research that shows what parts of our society are suffering and about gathering data and applying it to our decision making to make sure that no one is left behind," Hepfner said.
Also speaking at the news event was Jacqueline Villeneuve-Ahmed, the executive director of She Matters. She talked about the importance of the research project.
"This project isn't just about statistics and studies. It's about real stories, real people and real struggles faced by survivors of sexual assault, living in rural and remote areas of our country," said Villeneuve-Ahmed.
She said the research into the ability of smaller communities to collect evidence represents a significant step in dismantling systemic obstacles for survivors of sexual violence.
She said she was pleased with the funding.
"We're very grateful for this particular funding opportunity and being accepted for this opportunity because it's showing not only our group, but other survivors that we are seen and heard," she said.
Len Gillis covers health care issues and the mining industry for Sudbury.com .
