Banff YWCA seeks funding for survivors of sexual violence to get counselling and other services locally

While there are services for victims of sexual violence and assault in Banff, the local YWCA sends survivors in need of specialized counselling to bigger centres, like Calgary.

A trip some choose not to take, and one that Banff YWCA CEO Ebony Rempel said might mean putting a name on a long waitlist. 

"We do have some intervention-based services, but at this point, we don't have those specialized services that we know sexual assault survivors are really in need of," said Rempel.

"We can support them in getting to an urban centre like Calgary, but what we know…is there are wait lists up to 18 months." 

In a recent funding request to the province, the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Services, which represents organizations like the Banff YWCA, put forward a proposal outlining the issues survivors of sexual assault and violence are facing — with a detailed plan for the province to tackle rising problems across Alberta. 

The AASAS ask tallied up to a $14 million increase to annual funding that would address funding for 15 sexual assault centres in 38 communities across the province — bringing overall funding up to $31 million.

For Banff, this proposal would have meant a boost for services that support education and outreach to prevent sexual and domestic violence, but also enough stable funding over years to launch specialised counselling services that would fill a local gap and ease pressures on the bigger centres.

In response, YWCA Banff Director of Advocacy and Community Programs Reave MacLeod said the province offered to consider boosting funding for counselling.

"The response was an offer that's actually just unworkable," MacLeod said.

"It only addressed one area of the business case and that was specialised counselling. And we just believe that you know, areas such as prevention are actually equally as important. It's about stopping the issue before it starts." 

The other issue with the funding, MacLeod said, is that it was only guaranteed for a year. And setting up a specialised counselling service in Banff will take time.

"That just doesn't feel workable, It doesn't feel ethical," MacLeod said. "For survivors, we would essentially be taking on survivors as clients and having to give them notice that the service wouldn't be continuing."

In a statement from the province's ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services, a spokesperson said they are still reviewing the AASAS proposal. Funding for this area comes from four different ministries, and currently, the overall budget is about $14 million a year. 

"Sexual Assault Centres provide critical supports to victims impacted emotionally, mentally, and physically from sexual violence," read the statement. "Alberta's government is committed to combatting sexual violence and ensuring proper care is available to victims."

Since the dawn of the #MeToo movement, and the isolating effects of the pandemic, Banff has seen rising sexual assault reports to police, with RCMP reporting a 200 per cent increase in 2022 over what officers investigate in a typical year. 

"I think it just makes the whole situation that much more difficult when folks can't get access to the support that they need in order to move through that trauma," Rempel said. 

Province-wide, Albertans were reaching out for help. AASAS reported its toll-free helpline, known as Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence, saw a record-high number of people reach out in recent years; with call volumes increasing by 41 per cent in 2021 and 67 per cent in 2022 over pre-pandemic volumes. 

With this significant jump, the organisation and its partners hoped the province would increase funding – as a response to demand. The proposal asked for a holistic approach, with funding to cover both wrap-around services, and counselling.

The YWCA hopes the province can reconsider. 

"Of course, here in the Bow Valley we don't operate in isolation, we have many partners," said Rempel.

"We really want to work together to find a solution, and at the end of the day we all have the same end goal … giving survivors that have experienced sexual violence the support that they need and that they deserve."

Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.