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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.”
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. Rigolet is a close-knit Labrador community of about 300 people where everyone knows each other. It should be a place where people feel safe, but resident Desiree Wolfrey says she’s constantly warning her three daughters to be on guard.
“I’m always telling them to be wary of where you are and who you’re with, and to be careful,” Wolfrey said in a recent interview.
Labrador has a staggeringly high rate of sexual assault more than four times the national average, according to data supplied to The Canadian Press by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the RCMP. And the numbers show it’s rising.
With a sexual assault rate four times national average, Labrador advocates seek help
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Deirdre Connolly, shown in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, N.L. on Monday, May 3, 2021, opened the Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre s Labrador office in March 2020 and says the St. John s headquarters has been calling for a sexual assault nurse examiner program in the region for years. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Shirley White MANDATORY CREDIT
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Rigolet is a close-knit Labrador community of about 300 people where everyone knows each other. It should be a place where people feel safe, but resident Desiree Wolfrey says she’s constantly warning her three daughters to be on guard.