Vancouver Coastal Health has announced victims of rape will soon have the option of getting a forensic exam in Squamish.
“Beginning in mid-December, Vancouver Coastal Health will have a public health nurse available in Squamish to support Sea-to-Sky victims of sexual assault who would like a forensic examination,” read a VCH media release Thursday.
The exams will initially be available Monday to Friday, according to the release, and physicians in the corridor will eventually provide on-call forensic exams 24 hours a day, the release states.
Councillor Susan Chapelle, who spearheaded the call for assault kits over a year ago by telling her story of being raped, welcomed the news, but she said more needs to be done.
“Vancouver Coastal Health has been incredibly supportive with limited resources,” she said, adding there is still a need for better integration of services and providers of care for women.
“I am still curious why this is funded through health care with limited resources instead of the Ministry of Justice. This is a woman’s justice issue that turns into a health-care issue with poor coordination of care. We are doing the best we can, and there are still 18 hospitals without the expertise of forensic nursing.”
Shannon Cooley Herdman of the Howe Sound Women’s Centre agreed having some access to forensic exams is a good start. She shares Chapelle’s hopes for more support for women going forward.
“At the women’s centre, we applaud this and celebrate it as a great starting point,” said Herdman, coordinator and advocate for sexual assault response and prevention. “We would like to see sexual assault response extended to the entire corridor at some point, but we celebrate this as a good start.”
