The chief federal prosecutor is under no illusion about the challenge of gaining people’s trust
CBC Indigenous: Nunavut now has a team of prosecutors dedicated to sexual violence cases.
Launched in April, the team within Nunavut’s Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC) office will assist in all sexual violence files in the territory.
On the team are four prosecutors, two paralegals, and a rotation of witness co-ordinators, some of whom are Inuit. Most of them are new hires from temporary funding following the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
In the most serious cases, the lead prosecutors will be inside the courtroom, or assisting the lawyers on the file.
Philippe Plourde, Nunavut’s chief federal prosecutor, said the goal of the team is to support victims right from the get-go.
“If we get a file today, we expect the team to reach out to the victim tomorrow, or at least by the end of the week to start those discussions,” he said.
Nunavut has the highest rate of sexual violence in the country, but advocates are hopeful this prosecution team can help empower victims to come forward.
Jasmine Redfern, president of Amautiit Nunavut Inuit Women’s Association, said a stigma of shame for victims of sexual violence still persists today.
“It can be devastating for victims to even acknowledge what’s happened to them, to themselves, let alone to have to share it with others,” she said.
Nunavut MP Lori Idlout is hopeful this prosecution team could change that, and effectively prosecute and subsequently reduce cases of sexual violence.
But if the team is successful, she said there could be a rise in cases in the short term.
“Women will see that, through reporting, they’re getting the support that they need, and that might open up women’s willingness to share their experience,” she said.
Breaking down silos between agencies
One of the shortcomings Redfern sees in the way sexual violence is currently addressed is the siloed approach between different institutions.
“Often victims who come forward are being given conflicting information and they’re being sent to multiple different services and providers,” she said.
Plourde acknowledges that within the criminal justice system in general, there’s a “disconnect” between the support victims are seeking, and what the criminal justice system is able to offer.
“The criminal justice system is a last resort option,” he said.
The team is also partnering with other agencies, like the RCMP, on training to provide victims the wraparound services they require. He said it’s similar to what similar teams in the Northwest Territories and Ontario are doing.
Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster, MLA for Iqaluit-Sinaa, also hopes the establishment of the team will help victims come forward.
But she adds that efforts to address sexual violence must recognize intergenerational trauma within communities.
“Those people who are perpetrating those crimes are often victims themselves. So it’s really important to take an approach that is about not only seeking justice, but also about healing and breaking the cycle of trauma,” she said.
Healing for both victims and perpetrators
Brewster recognizes that calling for trauma support for both victims and perpetrators can be “a difficult concept to consider,” especially for victims who feel left out of the conversation.
But she said it’s important to prevent future crimes, especially if the perpetrator is allowed to re-enter the community.
“When it comes to sexual violence in Nunavut, a lot of the time we know the perpetrators, and have a lot of familial or community connections,” she said.
“There is very little to keep the perpetrator away from their victims. So relationships do have to be rebuilt because there is no order for them to stay away in the long term.”
Idlout believes healing programs are important, adding the emphasis must be on consent.
“We need to say that it’s OK for either the man or the woman to say no … And when someone says no, that means we should respect that choice and stop,” she said.
Creating institutional change
Plourde is under no illusion about the challenge on hand, and the need to gain people’s trust in the team.
“Anyone who looks at the dockets in Nunavut’s criminal court will see that there is an incredibly high number of cases,” he said.
“I can’t change what people think about the past, but we can improve how things will happen in the future, and this is what we’re committing.”
Idlout said communities should not just rely on the government or the Crown to provide services, but to take it upon themselves to help each other out.
“We have to take back that sense of ownership and willingness to move forward, for the sake and health of our children and our grandchildren,” she said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samuel Wat is a reporter with CBC Nunavut based in Iqaluit. He was previously in Ottawa, and in New Zealand before that. You can reach him at samuel.wat@cbc.ca