EDMUNDSTON, NB, June 24, 2024 /CNW/ - Sexual violence is a crime that has devastating consequences and can cause significant trauma for survivors, victims, and their loved ones. The Government of Canada is committed to helping all victims and survivors of sexual crimes by establishing partnerships, to offer them tailored and accessible services.

Today, René Arseneault, Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Restigouche, on behalf of the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Charlotte Côté, Director of Escale MadaVic, announced funding of $2,127,922 over six years (2021–2027) to Escale MadaVic to support victims and survivors of sexual crimes in the Madawaska and Victoria counties of New Brunswick.

The funding announced today supports Escale MadaVic's project, "Continuité de développement de la stratégie de collaboration" [Continued Collaborative Strategy Development]. Through the implementation of a collaborative strategy with over 25 stakeholders, including Indigenous and immigrant communities, this project addresses the needs of sexual violence victims and survivors, and improves their access to community response services. The consolidation of this network will improve the sexual violence services and resources available in remote areas of New Brunswick—where access to services is limited and often unavailable in French.

This project will enable the organization to provide its partners with the knowledge and tools they need to address the complex traumas that may result from sexual violence. Working in collaboration with its municipal partners, Escale MadaVic will also inform victims and survivors of the laws and services available to them, as well as raise public awareness of sexual violence through social media and traditional media. These approaches will enable the organization to reach a greater number of people in remote areas.

The Department of Justice Canada is awarding Escale MadaVic $900,000 over three fiscal years (2021–2024) and $1,227,922 over three additional fiscal years (2024–2027) through the Sexual Assault stream of the Victims Fund. This fund provides the resources and knowledge survivors need to facilitate access to justice, improve the capacity of service providers, foster the establishment of referral networks, and increase awareness of services available to victims and survivors of crime and their families.

Founded in 1988, Escale MadaVic is a non-profit organization offering a range of support services to victims of violence—be it spousal, domestic or sexual—and their children, in all their diversity, in the Madawaska and Victoria counties of New Brunswick. Using a trauma-focused approach, the services provided include a shelter; a centre for therapy, assistance and support for victims and survivors of sexual violence; outreach, second stage and artistic expression programs; as well as a 24-hour helpline.

"The funding we are announcing today to Escale MadaVic will help provide better access to justice and community services for victims and survivors of sexual violence. It will also support our national and provincial efforts to keep communities safe, protect victims and survivors, and hold offenders accountable for their actions."

The Honourable Arif Virani, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

"With the federal support announced today, Escale MadaVic will be able to better address the needs of victims and survivors of sexual violence in the Madawaska and Victoria counties and reach a greater number of people in these regions. The support offered by this program is essential to facilitating access to justice for victims and survivors, including those from Francophone minority communities in New Brunswick."

René Arseneault
Member of Parliament for Madawaska—Restigouche

"Since 2016, our region has had a centre of expertise in sexual violence subsidized by the Department of Justice Canada through the Victims Fund. Continued funding allows Escale MadaVic to ensure consistency in the three components of their Éclipse centre: awareness, coordination, and therapeutic intervention. The staff are certified to offer essential services to victims and survivors of sexual violence."

Charlotte Côté
Executive Director of Escale MadaVic

• The Victims Fund provides funding through grants and contributions to support projects and activities aimed at developing new approaches and promoting access to justice and services for all victims of crime, with a special focus on the needs of vulnerable victims of crime, notably victims of sexual assault.
  
  
• It is a current priority for the Department of Justice to support activities that will help enhance the criminal justice system's response to victims and survivors of sexual assault and exploitation, improve their access to justice, increase their confidence in the justice system, and provide them with better services.
  
  
• Violence affects people of all genders, ages, religions, cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and socio-economic backgrounds.
  
  
• Many Canadians across the country continue to face violence every day because of their gender, gender expression, gender identity or perceived gender. According to data from Statistics Canada:
  • In 2019, women living in rural areas of the provinces of Canada experienced rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) that were almost twice as high as women living in urban areas.
    
    
  • In 2018, 61% of Indigenous women were more likely to experience some form of IPV in their lifetime compared with 44% of non-Indigenous women.
    
    
  • Over 65% of LGB+ women who had ever been in an intimate partner relationship had experienced at least one type of IPV since the age of 15, significantly more than 44% of heterosexual women.
    
    
  • In New Brunswick, 849 cases of sexual assault were reported by police in 2022, representing a 52% increase over the past five years. Among these cases, sexual assaults violating the victim's sexual integrity were the most frequently reported. (Table 35-10-0177-01, 2023)

• Escale MadaVic
• What is gender-based violence? (Women and Gender Equality Canada)
• Victims Fund (Department of Justice Canada)
• Measures to Enhance Criminal Justice System Responses to Adult Sexual Assault in Canada (Victims Fund, Department of Justice Canada)

• Follow the Department of Justice Canada on X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn.
• Follow Minister Virani on X (Twitter): @MinJusticeEn.
• Subscribe to receive our news releases and more via RSS feeds. For more information or to subscribe, visit https://justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/rss.html.

• Follow Escale MadaVic on:

Website: Escale MadaVic | EscaleMadaVic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EscaleMadavicInc  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fondationescalemadavic/ 

SOURCE Department of Justice Canada