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 Making a Difference Canada |
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The “Making a Difference Canada” project, supported with generous funding by the Donner Canadian Foundation is being undertaken jointly with American professionals, with coordinated funding provided by the William H. Donner Foundation.
Background
The purpose of the project is to "Make a Difference" by challenging the justice system in both the U.S. and Canada to more effectively prosecute sexual offenders. It is clear, based on existing research, that the criminal justice systems in the U.S. and Canada, as in other countries, are less likely to prosecute incidents of sexual assault if there is relationship between the victim and the accused, there is no sign of physical injury, and the suspect is not otherwise associated with criminal activity. However, these two characteristics are in fact typical for the majority of adult sexual assaults.
- In fact, the research unequivocally documents that the vast majority of sexual assault crimes are committed by a person who is known to the victim, who is not otherwise associated with criminal activity, and who does not leave any evidence of physical injury on the victim.
- The most frequent type of sexual assault is typically treated with leniency, while atypical sexual assault perpetrators are the ones who are likely to be held accountable for their crimes (i.e., those who are strangers, associated with criminal activity, and physically injure their victim).
The "Making a Difference" project was designed to address this problem, by facilitating reform in the U.S. and Canadian legal systems to challenge the status quo and more effectively prosecute incidents of adult sexual assault.
Working Together ... Across Disciplines, Communities, and Countries
From its inception, the vision for reform focused on multi-disciplinary teams from 8 U.S. communities and 8 Canadian communities who would become partners in a joint effort to work together collaboratively and set new national standards in each country for effectively prosecuting sex offenders, particularly ones whose crimes do not fit the stereotype of sexual assault.
In the fall of 2004, community teams from each country joined together for a 3-day training conference (one hosted in each country). The training conferences were designed to provide an initial forum for participant communities to share strategies, highlight their challenges and successes, and coordinate their activities. More detailed information is available on the Making a Difference conference and the participating communities in both countries.
Grant funding was also awarded during Phase I to evaluate the success of the two conferences in achieving their stated objectives, and to carefully design the strategy for continued funding to support reform efforts in the 8 Canadian and 8 US participating communities. Detailed information is available both on the findings of the on the reform efforts that are currently underway in each of the 8 Canadian communities.
Phase II is designed to provide ongoing support for the project goals by providing technical assistance, including on-site training workshops, coordinated communication between the team members, and data collection efforts, to document the success of any reform efforts.
While Phase II of the project involves providing various forms of technical assistance to the professionals in participating communities, the centerpiece of this phase may be the ambitious data collection effort that agencies will be undertaking, with centralized coordination by the staff of EVAW International. The power and utility of this data simply cannot be overstated. While prior research has reported findings based on similar kinds of data from individual agencies or disciplines, never before has any research project attempted to collect this level of detailed information from the entire spectrum of agencies involved in sexual assault response -- including law enforcement, prosecution, forensic medicine, advocacy, and victim services. With such data in hand, EVAW International will be able to provide a detailed picture of the basic characteristics of sexual assault in these 16 communities in two countries, as seen by various agencies (e.g., law enforcement, prosecution, forensic medicine, and victim advocacy).
For example, analysis of this data will allow us to better understand how many sexual assault victims report their crime to police, and how the characteristics of their assaults determine whether their case will proceed through the entire criminal justice system to prosecution and conviction. We will even be able to link this analysis with comparable detail on the number of sexual assault victims seeking help from advocacy and other victim service organizations, and whether the characteristics of their crimes are similar or different to those reported to law enforcement and subsequently processed through the criminal justice system. Detailed information is available on the data collection efforts, including the basic research design and the research materials that are available for use by any interested professionals. A summary report (PowerPoint) is also available for data submitted by the 8 U.S. MAD communities for the period of time from January to July 2004. Canadian data will be added when collection processes are finalized.
It is expected that this ongoing data collection will reveal a variety of important indicators of reform, such as the following:
More “typical” victims of sexual assault coming forward to seek help from victim service agencies and/or report their crime to law enforcement. (By “typical” victims, we mean those that are perpetrated by a non-stranger, who do not have a prior criminal record, and who do not use a weapon or inflict physical injury on the victim).
Better collection of evidence by law enforcement and prosecution, and increased victim support in “typical” cases of sexual assault where consent is the probable defense.
Increased communication and coordination among stakeholders from the various agencies involved in an integrated community response, including strategic planning to overcome obstacles and barriers to challenging the status quo.
Better community education about the realistic dynamics of sexual assault and common responses of victims, and countering the notion that false reporting is widespread.
Improved preparation for anticipating standard legal arguments and countering with techniques such as the use of expert witnesses to better convey the realistic dynamics of sexual assault crimes to judges and jurors.
With ongoing data collection and analysis, the staff of EVAW International will be able to test these hypotheses and others – to better understand how a cadre of dedicated professionals are currently Making a Difference in the 16 participating communities in 2 countries. |
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