Labrador sexual assault rates symptom of inequality: MHA
May 25, 2021
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Recent media reports on the high rate of sexual assault in Labrador raised some eyebrows, but not in Labrador. The number of sexual assaults in the region, four times higher than the national average, aren’t a new problem nor one with an easy solution, observers say.
Torngat Mountains MHA Lela Evans said it’s important for statistics like this to be evaluated in the context of the social inequality people in Labrador experience, especially the Indigenous population and people living on the north coast.
“It’s social inequality that contributed to this statistic. The statistic is just a symptom. We have high suicide rates. We have higher numbers of children in care. If you look at all these separately you miss the big picture.”