The number of sexual abuse victims asking for support in the city is greater than ever before, according to Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse (CCASA).
That means getting help is taking more time.
“We are absolutely stretched,” Danielle Aubry said.
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The executive director of CCASA said current counselling staff simply can’t keep up.
Two hundred and sixty people are currently on the wait list for sexual abuse counselling in Calgary. Timewise, people are looking at eight to nine months.
“I would say the sexual assault centres in Alberta are in crisis,” Aubry said.
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The #MeToo movement has been growing with new allegations of inappropriate behaviour coming out daily.
The increase in victims reporting is at least partially attributed to the movement—for both current and historical cases.
“We’re dealing with the last 40 or 50 years of people coming forward,” Aubry said.
“We’ve always had people that would have phoned and said, ‘This happened to me 30 years ago and I’m coming forward now’ but the numbers are exponentially bigger than what they used to be.”
Sexual assault centres have asked for increased government funding.
Officials at CCASA said they could use double the counselling staff to keep up with demand.
In the meantime, they are triaging people in need of help, and asking those on wait lists not to give up.