Federal funding drying up for program that reviews sex assault cases

A unique Canadian program meant to ensure sexual-assault cases aren’t closed inappropriately by police is set to run out of federal funding at the end of the month, its national co-ordinator said.

The Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review program is the only system in the world that brings together front-line experts and advocates to review every police sexual-assault investigation that doesn’t lead to charges in the areas it operates, according to Sunny Marriner, who leads the project.

The program was first set up in a few communities in 2016 but drew national attention after the Globe and Mail’s 2017 investigation into sexual-assault allegations dismissed as unfounded. It’s currently in place in more than two dozen communities across several provinces, including Ottawa, Kingston, Ont., Saint John, N.B., Regina, and Calgary.

Committees are also in various stages of development in a handful of other communities, some of them held up by the uncertainty regarding funding, said Marriner, who previously worked as the executive director of the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre.

The program received a three-year grant from Women and Gender Equality Canada that is set to run out on March 31, Marriner said. It previously received a similar grant in its earlier years. Organizers have spoken to the federal government about the need for sustainable funding but haven’t heard anything back, and there are “no other avenues” at this time, she said.

A spokesperson for Women and Gender Equality Canada said the project was funded over 38 months under the ministry’s gender-based violence program. It received funding through the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women.

“At the federal level, WAGE provides time-limited funding through the