Sexual violence strategy for Manitoba in motion

A strategy to care for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in all parts of Manitoba is in the works by the provincial government.

The strategy will be developed over the next year and is being led by local physicians Dr. Yvette Emerson and Dr. Vanessa Poliquin and community advocate Leslie Spillett, the province said in a news release Thursday.

The strategy will build on the work of the sexual assault nurse examiner program through community organizations and hospitals in Winnipeg, to extend the same supports to rural and northern communities, Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said in the release.

The expansion of the program to rural and northern communities is a “necessary step for ensuring all Manitobans have access to safe and culturally appropriate care close to home” the release stated.

“Our government is looking forward to bringing together the experience and expertise of these providers under one co-ordinated provincial strategy, expanding this holistic approach to sexual assault and intimate partner violence care to other areas of the province,” Asagwara said.

While details of the strategy are scant, the announcement comes after a community-led sexual assault nurse examiner program launched in Winnipeg in January. The program is in partnership with Klinic and Ka Ni Kanichihk and is funded by the Manitoba government.

In April 2022, the province ordered the sexual assault nurse examiner program be expanded to include hiring permanent, full-time nurses to provide around-the-clock coverage at Health Sciences Centre, and to establish satellite sites in rural and northern communities.

The expanded program was to be up and running in early 2023, but in March of that year a group of casual nurses quit, citing a lack of resources, a breakdown in communication between management and the front line and the distress of knowing shifts were going uncovered.

In January, the program was almost fully staffed with new examiners.