Ontario ups funding for sexual assault centres

GUELPH, Ont. — Premier Kathleen Wynne is vowing to put an end to the abuse of women in Ontario, saying she wants the province to be a place where everyone looks out for each other.

Wynne made the comments during a visit to a sexual assault centre in Guelph, where she made a funding announcement.

The province will increase funding for all 42 sexual assault centres in Ontario by $1.75 million annually to $14.8 million a year.

Wynne got emotional when asked if she had ever been sexually assaulted, and said she was fortunate never to have experienced it, but talked about what she calls “near misses” that every woman has dealt with.

She detailed an experience when she was just 24 years old where male friends came to protect her from an older man that she hadn’t even realized may have had bad intentions towards her.

Wynne says she’s never met a woman who hasn’t experienced verbal, physical or sexual assault or some near misses, and vows to do everything in her power to try to put an end to it once and for all.

“It’s a lofty goal to end sexual violence and assault in Ontario, but we’ve got to have that vision,” she said.

“We’ve got to have a vision of a world where everyone can be safe, even though it’s a really hard to do, but if we don’t have that vision then we’ll never get there.”