March 2025 Board of Health Meeting - Collaboration with University of Windsor for Youth Sexual Assault Prevention Program Information Report

Meeting Date
March 2025 Board of Health Meeting
Meeting Document Type
Information Report
Collaboration with University of Windsor for Youth Sexual Assault Prevention Program

PREPARED BY: Comprehensive Health Promotion

DATE: 2025-03-20

SUBJECT: Collaboration with University of Windsor for Youth Sexual Assault Prevention Program

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Windsor-Essex and a growing number of area municipalities have recognized intimate partner violence (IPV) at a crisis level. IPV or gender-based violence includes behaviour within an intimate relationship that causes physical, sexual or psychological harm, including acts of physical aggression, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours. In support of the endorsed Windsor-Essex Board of Health Intimate Partner/Gender Based Violence Resolution (December, 2024), the WECHU has prioritized the prevention of IPV and promotion of healthy relationships as an area of focus for the Comprehensive Health Promotion Department (CHP). Recent statistics from the Windsor Police Service found that crimes against individuals increased in 2024 by 13.7 percent and that the increase is related to IPV. Between January to August 2024, Windsor Police responded to 2,573 IPV-related incidents – a 7.1% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Additionally, 37.7% of all crimes against people and 44.3% of all assaults reported in 2024 were related to IPV.1 Teen dating violence in Canada has increased by 33% since 2015 (following a period of decline from 2009 to 2014). Rates of sexual violence (SV) against teen girls are disproportionately high. In 2022, the rate of police-reported dating violence was about nine times higher for teenage girls than boys.2 More than four in ten (45%) Canadian teens report they have experienced dating violence since turning 15. Victims aged 15 to 17 are found to have higher rates of sexual violence in dating relationships than other forms of violence, and rates for this age group are higher than in all older age groups.3

There are two CHP priority projects in 2025 to prevent IPV and promote healthy relationships to families and youth: facilitating and supporting the work of the Windsor-Essex Youth Relationship Violence Prevention Community of Practice and working with the University of Windsor to pilot a sexual assault prevention program for girls in high needs schools.

Convened in 2024, the Windsor-Essex Youth Relationship Violence Prevention Community of Practice (COP) is comprised of approximately 30 community partners including youth-serving organizations, schoolboards, and police services. The COP is actively working to identify needs and develop resources and programs to prevent IPV in our community. Current projects include increasing public awareness and building the capacity of parents/caregivers and adults who work with youth to prevent and provide early intervention for relationship violence and abuse. The COP is also working on a community model for youth-serving organizations to create safe spaces for youth to talk about unhealthy relationships, build healthy relationship skills, develop connections with service providers and other peers, and access important social services.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) has also entered into a formal partnership with the University of Windsor, to utilize funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to pilot test a unique community-based approach to implement sexual assault prevention program. The Adolescent Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act program (also known as A-EAAA or Girls -- Flip the ScriptTM) is an evidenced-based sexual violence resistance program. This program has been proven to reduce the sexual violence experienced by young adult women by 50%.4 The program was originally developed by Dr. Charlene Senn from the University of Windsor for university and college women. It has now been adapted for adolescent girls aged 14 -18 who have not graduated high school. This is the only program available shown to significantly reduce Sexual Violence (SV) victimization. This is a multi-year project in partnership with several types of youth-serving organizations in Ontario and British Columbia.

DISCUSSION

The WECHU will develop and test one implementation model for the Adolescent Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act program by delivery to priority area schools. At the completion of the project, it is intended that an evidence-based, effective community program model will be made available to youth-serving organizations across Canada.

Starting in spring 2025, the WECHU CHP Department will support the pilot implementation project over a two-year period. The goal is for six sessions of A-EAAA to be offered during the 2025-2026 school year (September to June), at six different high needs schools in Windsor-Essex.

  1. Windsor Police Service. (2024). WPS partners with community stakeholders to offer real-time support for IPV victims.
  2. Sutton, D. & Burczycka, M. (2024). Dating violence against teens aged 15 to 17 in Canada, 2009 to 2022.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Senn, C. et al. (2015). Efficacy of a sexual assault resistance program for university women. New England Journal of Medicine, 372(24), 2326-2335. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMsa1411131