Sexual assault testing lacking in parts of Nova Scotia: advocates
'When something like that happens, you just want to feel clean again'
Advocates for sexual health services in Nova Scotia say more resources are needed, especially when it comes to sexual assault examinations.
There are only two regions in the province with specialized teams trained to respond to victims' needs and do the required testing. Halifax has a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) team of 15 registered nurses. It responds to all metro hospitals within one hour of a victim reporting to triage.
The other SANE team is based in Antigonish, serving six hospitals in the outlying areas. Both programs are funded by the Department of Health.
A Pictou woman tells CBC she waited three days for a SANE team to travel from Antigonish to the Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow.
"I couldn't shower. I had to take my clothes that I wore that night and put them in a plastic bag, so that the evidence wouldn't be tampered with and that's basically about it. I wasn't allowed to shower," she said. "That was really hard to deal with because when something like that happens, you just want to feel clean again."
CBC has agreed not to reveal the woman's identity. She decided not to press charges against the man who she says raped her. The alleged attack happened in her home on New Year's Eve 2014.
She tells CBC when she finally met with the SANE team, they treated her with compassion and care.
If somebody is wanting a rape kit done, they should be able to access that at any hospital. Period.- Margaret Mauger
"When you are in something like that, you don't need professional. You need personal. You need someone to sit next to you and hold your hand and say that you're going to be OK," she said.
Susan Wilson, the co-ordinator of Halifax's SANE program, says sexual assault examinations can take up to six hours.
"Physicians and ER nurses don't have forensic training typically unless they received that elsewhere, but largely not, and yet they're expected to be the experts in these situations. Chain of custody, being able to know how to preserve evidence and protect that and be able to testify appropriately in court is difficult when they don't have the background knowledge," said Wilson.
Wilson says she often hears from ER doctors who aren't comfortable doing the test, and that could explain long wait times in some communities.
Call for province-wide program
Margaret Mauger, executive director of the Colchester Sexual Assault Centre, says the gap in service is unacceptable.
She's heard of similar stories in Truro, where victims have to wait or travel to Halifax.
Mauger says many victims give up before a test is done.
"I think this is a provincial issue. Like this has to be taken care of through the Department of Health. Not-for-profit organizations have a lot of work to do and to advocate to have a SANE in their community — to me, that takes away from the other important work that they're doing. This should just be a given," she said.
"To me, if somebody is wanting a rape kit done, they should be able to access that at any hospital. Period."
The Pictou woman agrees it should be addressed.
"If I was able to walk into the hospital and just be able to talk to somebody and then have them right there, that would have been so much better than me actually sitting in that filth for three days. That is what women need, not having to travel or wait or sit in that trauma any longer than they already had," she said.
The health minister has said he's looking at expanding sexual assault services across the province.
When asked for comment last week, the department's advice for sexual assault victims was to go to the local emergency room.