EDMONTON — Almost half of adult Albertans have experienced sexual abuse in their lifetime, a new survey suggests. The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services surveyed 1,512 adult Albertans and found 45 per cent of them — almost one in every two — have been sexually abused before. Based on those findings, the group estimates 1,477,846 adults and 324,972 children in Alberta have been sexually abused. Thirty-eight per cent reported being abused as children and adults, 34 per cent were abused when they were under 18 and 28 per cent were assaulted as adults. The survey also found females (60 per cent) are more likely to be sexually assaulted than males (31 per cent). The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault outlined two different types of sexual abuse in the report: physical contact and no physical contact. The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services Seventy-seven per cent of participants reported being victims of physical contact abuse. Twenty-eight per cent of participants reported being victims of unwanted touching — the most common physical contact assault. The most common non-physical contact act in the survey was the abuser exposing their sexual organs to the victim (27 per cent). According to the report, 92 per cent of the sexual abuse those surveyed faced "reached the threshold" of a crime. That number jumped all the way to 100 per cent when the abuse was against children. The Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services noted that these findings do not measure the amount of sexual assault incidents that occur in the province. If you or someone you know have experienced sexual violence, call police or contact the Sexual Assault Centre of Edmonton at 780-423-4121 or visit the SACE website.
