I initiated my application with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (CICB) on May 12, 2019. I have not yet received an update about when my hearing is scheduled and then when I can expect to have my claim processed. It has been over 10 months. This program is meant to cover therapy related to the crime. It has been over 10 months….

The CICB was an adjudicative tribunal whose purpose was to assess the level and types of financial compensation to be awarded to victims and/or family members of deceased victims of violent crimes committed in Ontario. Essentially, the CICB falls under a group of social justice programs in Ontario and is meant to serve victims of violent crime. The application is 15 pages; excluding additional reports and information that the CICB may require from current or past health care providers/services, police reports of the incident and so on to assess the total amount they deem is fair compensation. The CICB also considers amounts paid to a victim from other sources such as employment insurance claims related to the crime or other sources of compensation that may have come from a small claims court or civil suit. These amounts will be subtracted from the total amount to be awarded by the CICB. If after receiving financial compensation from the CICB a victim (or family member of a victim) receives financial compensation for the crime from a source other than they CICB, they are expected to repay the CICB. Since Jan 1, 2017 the CICB has been publishing decisions on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII). The identity of victims and any personal, potentially identifying information are no included in these published decisions.

On October 1, 2019, the Victim Quick Response Program (VQRP) (in Ontario) replaced the CICB. While both of these programs (the previous CICB and the now VQRP) are legislated by the Compensation for Victims of Crime Act and are meant to apply to the Victims’ Bill of Rights, there are some differences between the CICB and the VQRP.

Some Key Differences Between the CICB and the VQRP

The first and most notable is the processing time/speed of claims. Claims previously filed with the CICB were expected to take, on average, 12 months or more to complete. I myself have been waiting for over 10 months. The VQRP states that they will be able to process immediate/urgent supports in 3 days with serious injury and homicide survivors having their claims processed in 10 business days. Short-term counselling supports will be apparently processed in only 5 business days. What short-term counselling covers was not information that I could find. Whether this application is done online or through a referral centre/worker; I also do not know.

Second, the eligibility criteria for the VQRP clearly states that services will be provided to those without other financial means (e.g. private insurance) or access to publicly funded programs. However, the fact that even if a person has access to private insurance (e.g., sufficient for a limited number (5-10) of sessions) or publicly funded programs (e.g. long wait lists, usually limited to 10 sessions) the number of sessions available are insufficient for the kind of trauma resulting from sexual assault and it requires the person assaulted to tell their story OVER AND OVER AGAIN. A form of re-traumatization in and of itself that could potentially negate any progress made in the first place. It might take three, four or five sessions just to build effective rapport with your therapist just to be cut off. That is A LOT of pressure to put on an individual person trying to recover from trauma and also on a therapist who is trying to make a difference and doing work they are passionate about.

Some Thoughts on Why Both of These Programs Are Inadequate

I was lucky that after I could access a therapist through a local sexual assault centre for 10 sessions that I had some private insurance coverage for 8 sessions. What these sessions allowed me to do was have someone to help me build very basic skills and understanding about what trauma is and how to ground myself in times where I was experiencing symptoms of PTSD (panic attacks, flashbacks, hypervigilance, fear, feeling suicidal ….). What these eligibility criteria fail to consider is that these limited sessions that are delivered in pieces by different therapists and resources ARE NOT ENOUGH FOR HEALING TO TAKE PLACE. In fact, online counselling services that offer phone or video sessions for significantly less (e.g., $45-$60/session instead of $150) such as BetterHelp can increase the accessibility for people with $1500/year to spend on counselling and a sound internet or phone connection that they can access in a private space. This is not a luxury that many have however.

If mental health care and trauma services were covered as part of the healthcare system, so many people would not have to navigate complex systems, filling out stupid long forms, collecting past medical documents or EI claim information ….. That is a lot of work and responsibility to put on a victim of a violent crime. All of that is hard enough in a state of trauma as it is. Imagine if a person who was sexually assaulted was dealing with an acquired brain injury from a domestic abuse situation where regular beatings were the norm. Or had to flee for their life with nothing but the clothes on their back and were trying to do all of this from a shelter, a friend’s couch or the street.

Drawing from my own experience with filling out the CICB forms, even though I was at the time, connected to a worker through the Victim Witness Assistance Program (VWAP), because the VWAP worker was mandated by law to report any information related to the crime to the Crown Attorney, they did not offer any assistance to me to complete the paperwork. That is beyond filling out my name, date of birth, date of the crimes from the report. It saved me all of 5 minutes. The one person who I thought was meant to be able to support me in navigating the system, declined to support me to structure the content of my CICB claim in fear that any information may not be EXACTLY what was in my original/initial police report which, thanks to rape culture and unfounded stereotypes driven by victim-blaming, would risk decreasing my credibility as a witness because my story is ‘changing’.

So, while the CICB or the VQRP may be helpful for victims of violent crime (which sexual assault and domestic violence are just that) who have the capacity, resources or support to complete the work of filing an application, it is useless for those who do not. And even then, be prepared for lengthy wait times and insufficient services.