The Quebec government is investing $200 million into preventing and responding to sexual violence in the province — a figure which includes $26 million in new funding.
Five ministers, including justice minister Stéphanie Vallée, appeared in Montreal Friday to announce a series of new measures.
Quebec will spend $44 million over the next five years on more than 50 new action plans. Among other things, it will increase the operating budgets of the Quebec coalition of sexual assault centres, and it also plans to start awareness campaigns on sexual violence, particularly in schools.
It's also looking at better training for police for when they carry out interventions for sexual assault situations, and create a new squad to combat sexual exploitation.
$6.7 million will go to more videoconferencing tools to make it easier for victims to testify in court — without having to go through the trauma of facing their accusers.
Vallée says she wants to make sure victims of assaults are more comfortable taking their cases to authorities.
"Talking about your personal life, talking about your sexual life is not easy, and you’re talking to strangers," Vallée said. "We want to make that relationship between the Crown attorney and the victim more personal. We want to make sure that they will trust the system, they will trust the professionals that are there to support them, so the testimony will not be so much of a burden."
The strategy comes just a week after MNA Gerry Sklavounos was accused by a Quebec City woman of sexually assaulting her. On Wednesday, thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Quebec denouncing rape culture in the wake of the Sklavounos scandal, and the recent break-ins at a campus dorm building at Quebec City's Laval University.