Just days before International Women’s Day, a network of sexual assault centres across the province has received news that additional funding provided by the PC government to help reduce wait lists for counselling services will not be renewed.
The $1 million one-time funding was promised by the Ford government ahead of the 2019 budget in order to deal with the backlog of survivors and victims who required counselling and support services.
The centres now say they will have to cut staff which will lead to longer wait lists for services for victims of sexual assault.
The Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres says in one year they receive more than 50,000 crisis line calls and they support more than 17,000 survivors of sexual violence.