Nova Scotia sexual violence strategy to be unveiled

After more than a year of research and meetings with dozens of community groups, the provincial government will release its first Sexual Violence Strategy later today.

The report comes at a time when the issue of sexual violence is at the forefront in Nova Scotia. 

Consent has been a hot topic on campuses such as Saint Mary's University.

Concerns have also been raised at Dalhousie Univeristy.

The overall lack of services available for sexual assault victims in Nova Scotia have also been a point of contention in recent months. For example, the case of woman who waited three days for a rape exam.

Then, there's the high-profile story of Rehtaeh Parsons. The 17-year-old girl took her own life after her parents say she was raped at a party and later tormented on social media.

"For some reason with Rehtaeh's story, it really captured our attention for such a long time and it directly led to these strategies across the province and to the provincial strategy," said Angela Johnston, Sexual Violence Project Coordinator at The Red Door Youth Centre in Kentville.

"We've seen that people are willing now to engage in the discussion for a longer period than they have in the past."

Government began working on the Sexual Violence Strategy in April 2014. More than 800 Nova Scotians participated in an online survey, which helped outline the direction of the report. 

The highly anticipated report will focus on youth services.

LGBTQ youth vulnerable

"This is sort of a cultural shift, and it's a way of supporting all of the organizations and the community members to have some common understanding of what this problem is so that we can work together in a more collaborative way," said Johnston.

As more people talk about sexual violence, more groups benefit. However, many believe there is still a long way to go in Nova Scotia when it comes to addressing the needs of victims.

LGBTQ youth who suffer sexual violence are one of the most vulnerable groups, according to Kate Shewan, executive director of The Youth Project.

"If they're not in that welcoming environment and then they're needing to talk about difficult topics such as sexual violence and reporting of issues of sexual violence, it becomes very, very difficult for them," said Shewan.

Premier Stephen McNeil and Community Services Minister Joanne Bernard will release the Sexual Violence Strategy at 10:30 a.m. in Kentville.