THUNDER BAY - Victims and survivors of crime often suffer in silence and with the city seeing increasing incidents of violence it is important to remind those who have been victimized that they are not alone.
As part of National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, several community organizations gathered at Thunder Bay city hall for the sixth annual Walk in Support of Victims and Survivors of Crime.
“The theme this year is the power of collaboration,” said Lee-Ann Chevrette, coordinator of the Thunder Bay Crime Prevention Council.
“As always, we have a number of community partners who are working with us to come together to raise awareness about the supports and services available to survivors and victims of crime in our community and just showing support to victims and survivors and families and friends of those affected by crime in our community.”
Organizations taking part included the Thunder Bay Police Service, Sex Abuse Centre Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay Counselling, Evergreen a United Neighbourhood, and Thunder Bay and Area Victim Services.
Chevrette said it is no secret that there is a lot of crime in the city of Thunder Bay and when someone is victimized by crime, it is often the entire community that suffers.
“We have to recognize that violence and other forms of crime impact not only the person who experiences it directly, but it can also impact deeply their families, their loved ones, and the community more broadly,” she said.
“It really does have an impact in terms of how people feel safe in our community when we know there is crime happening, there are victims of crime, and it does affect how we perceive our own safety and affects how we act in our own community.”
For every person who does come forward to report a crime, there are many others who continue to suffer alone and in silence, Chevrette said, as incidents involving violent crime and sexual violence often go unreported.
“So there are a lot of people in our community who have perhaps experienced crime but have not come forward to report,” Chevrette added. “There could be a number of reasons for that but we want to encourage people to report when they experience a crime so we can make sure we have these supports available.”
According to Danielle Rider, executive director of Thunder Bay and Area Victim Services, some of the key factors that continue to prevent individuals coming forward to report being a victim of a crime is stigma and shame.
“I think events like this and showing as a community we are all here, anyone of us can be exposed to that,” she said. “Our hope is events like this will help minimize that shame and stigma and help people come forward.”
Victims and survivors of crime often feel alone but Rider said it is important to send the message that there are people, programs, and organizations that are here to provide help despite some gaps in services.
“I think situations like this where we collaborate and come together as services and help each other fill in those spaces, I think at the end of the day we are able to support the victims in the way they need,” she said.
“I think it’s important to show support for victims so that they don’t feel alone,” Chevrette added. “They understand that people are looking out for them to heal. And to get any supports that they may need along their healing journey.”
