Cornwall Standard Freeholder
20 July 2010
Posted By Michael Peeling
mpeeling@standard-freeholder.com
CORNWALL – A multi-agency, coordinated approach to respond to cases of sexual assault is in the works across the province, said Minister of the Attorney General Chris Bentley.
Bentley was in the Seaway City Tuesday to make a grant announcement for the Cornwall Community Police, but took the time to meet with MPP Jim Brownell and officials from local and regional agencies set to be involved in the new approach based on recommendations made by Cornwall Public Inquiry Commissioner G. Normand Glaude early this year.
The four-year inquiry looked at how institutions in the area responded to allegations of historical sexual abuse.
“It’s clear from the commissioner’s recommendations and what we’ve learned that the work we need to doing has to coordinated, especially when it comes to dealing with the sexual abuse of male victims,” Bentley said. “Not only will this approach be the first of its kind in Canada, it will be the first of its kind in North America.”
The coordinated approach to helping victims of sexual abuse will differ from region to region based on the needs identified by participating agencies.
There will be four regional networks built across the province: north, south, west and east.
All of them will have crisis lines set up so victims can get help over the phone and over the internet, connecting them to the police, quick-response advocacy agencies or whatever suits a given situation.
Bentley explained the third major part of the plan is to create separate drop-in centres for males and females.
“At this point, all of the recommendations from the Cornwall Public Inquiry have been addressed,” Bentley said. “Some had been addressed before the report came out, some during the inquiry and some since. Addressing some is an ongoing process.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time and care reviewing the recommendations and we are moving forward in the spirit of those recommendations.”
Bentley said “the goal here is to build something we’ve never had before.”
“And it’s about time,” he said. “The Cornwall Public Inquiry really has been the catalyst to make sure this gets done.”
In the meantime, Bentley said the counselling programs supported by the Ministry will continue until long-term solutions can be implemented.
Bentley said “no one is going to be left hanging.”
In a few weeks, the Ministry begins the application process for agencies to take on the lead roles of the coordinated response network to sexual assault complaints.
Bentley said there won’t be a press conference announcing the coordinated response networks “out of respect for the victims.”
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Comments on this Article.
Oh but let us make this perfectly clear there was no pedophile ring in Cornwall. :0)
Post #1 By dodger,
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Right. How about the abduction of children from their families in that wonderful caring society thats puts children with pedophiles instead of keeping them with the parents that love them? How about some retooling of that society? How about govt interferring less in peoples lives
Post #2 By smilingrose,
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*lol* a cordinated approach.
First people are abused by their peers and now along with thr rest of the people we are abused by “A multi-agency”
Post #3 By itinerant,
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government agencies that work at arms length from the government such CAS actually sometimes cause more harm than good.
Post #4 By dodger,
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Bentley said there won’t be a press conference announcing the coordinated response networks “out of respect for the victims.” So they have used secrecy all along as an excuse how the hell does this help the victims? Has anyone asked the victims what they want? Okay so have any of the perpetrators been charged with anything or is this all supposed to blow over? Damn government secrecy.
Post #5 By dodger,