Thank you. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

The department's plan also includes, along with Health, Education, Culture and Employment and Justice, the development of a strategic plan for community mental health. The process will involve various groups and agencies and communities in the development of the plan which will address, amongst other issues, child sexual abuse and how government as a whole can be more effective in dealing with devastating problems, so there is a plan and ongoing training for those staff who request sexual abuse specialists training.

Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Dent.

Thank you. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is no program within Social Services' training program. The training component part of it is a responsibility of Education, Culture and Employment.

To note, there was a workshop from January 31 to February 4 in Baffin on sexual abuse, with representation from Social Services, Justice Canada, RCMP, Health, Department of Education, Culture and Employment, territorial Justice and the Status of Women. A training subcommittee planned and facilitated a similar workshop in Rankin Inlet in March of 1993 for 51 professionals in the Keewatin region. The RCMP and departments of Education, Culture and Employment and Social Services will give $90,000 to Baffin communities for the workshop that was held in Iqaluit.

So there are workshops that are ongoing in each region for sexual abuse and how to deal with sexual abuse. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Iqaluit, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, further to Mr. Pudluk's and Mr. Dent's questions, I would like to ask the Minister of Social Services about another group that needs support in addition to children, and that is adults who are finally dealing with sexual abuse they may have suffered as a child. I think these people are being identified in connection with new investigations in the Northwest Territories about residential schooling experiences, and we are finding many people carrying scars and burdens of many years. I would like to ask the Minister, what support is available for these adults carrying these scars of sexual abuse they may have suffered as a child? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Like I said earlier, we have specialists who come in to the communities when they are requested, and they work with the group who are the survivors of sexual abuse in helping them out in starting their self-help group. Pauktuutit has also started this healing process, as well, and that started this past winter when they met in Iqaluit. So there are agencies, along with our specialists, that can help and are available in each region. Thank you.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Madam Speaker, along with the Minister, I attended the Pauktuutit annual general meeting, and there were a number of very emotional moments when adults, sometimes elders, made disclosures about painful experiences they had suffered many years before. I think it's been pointed out in a recent letter to the editor in Nunatsiaq News that these kinds of disclosures can -- although they are helpful in themselves, if they are not followed up on -- lead to even more frustration and anxiety. So I would like to ask the Minister, given that these kinds of disclosures seem to be occurring more frequently and even publicly, and the latest example was the Pauktuutit AGM, is there a strategy within the department to respond to this apparently growing need? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I wish the Member for Iqaluit, could provide percentages when asked. He uses the words, the growing need. With the information that I have been provided by my department, in 1991 the incidence of child sexual abuse between the ages five and eight was 23 per cent, and in 1992-93 it was down to 16 per cent. For ages zero to four, in 1991-92, the incidence was 15 per cent, and in 1992-93 it was 16 per cent. I'm talking about the reported cases.

In the age category 16 to 18, the incidence was 8.5 per cent in 1991-92 and nine per cent in 1992-93. In 1991-92 between the ages of 13 and 15, 26.5 per cent of children were sexually abused, and in 1992-93 the figure was 22.3 per cent. Between the ages of nine and 12, 27 per cent of children were sexually abused in 1991-92 and in 1992-93 it was 36.7 per cent.

I think it is important, when we talk about something as serious as this, that we have accurate numbers. I don't object to the wording that the Member used, but because of the nature of what we're talking about I think it is important for the public to know.

Since awareness was commenced about four years ago, we have had a snowball effect now that it is okay to talk about sexual abuse. It is out in the open. According to the stats that we have from two years ago, the numbers have not increased. Perhaps it will have increased for adult numbers for this coming year, but that is yet to be seen.

There is help available in each region, when it is requested. Specialists are available to help the communities get started with self-help groups, which our department is directing, so the communities can deal with some of the serious problems themselves, along with the help of the department. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Patterson.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I don't think it would be fruitful for myself or the Minister to engage in a debate about one or two percentage points in the number of reported cases which indicate a trend, especially when we know that reported cases are probably only the tip of the iceberg. I guess I would like to get back to the theme of my question about adult survivors. I would like to ask the Minister another question. Recognizing that the problems of adults dealing with past abuse are quite different from the strategies used to deal with children dealing with past abuse, I would like to ask the Minister, is there in-service training and support now available for social workers for dealing with adult clients and their special problems? Thank you.

Thank you. Just before we go on, I want to caution Members not to be repetitive with their questions. I believe this same question was posed by Mr. Dent earlier on. I also want to caution the Minister about lengthy and detailed replies to the questions posed. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. (Translation) As I stated, in the different regions there are professionals who can deal with people who have been sexually abused. These professionals are highly qualified and they work with the people who have past experiences with sexual abuse when they were children. I know in my community of Pangnirtung, there are a lot of people who have been supported by the elders' group, using the social worker in the community.

As I stated earlier, each community, with the help of the social workers, should start a self-help group. We assist in that way, by using professionals to start up these groups for people who have been sexually abused as a child. Every time a community requests professionals, they are available.

Thank you. Item 5, oral questions. The honourable Member for Natilikmiot, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Social Services. Child sexual abuse is not something which happens in certain types of homes or certain communities. There are some services available to children and their families in our larger communities. However, in the smallest communities, support for people is limited or not there at all. My question to the honourable Minister, Madam Speaker, is how does the department ensure victims of sexual abuse and their families in our smallest communities receive adequate therapy and support? Thank you.

Thank you. Minister of Social Services, Ms. Mike.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. There is no question that this is a problem. When the victim is a child and in the custody of the department, the focus is to attempt to have the child placed in a safe environment that meets the needs of the individual. In the smaller communities, if our worker is not trained to deal with sexual abuse, that is when our regional sexual abuse specialists are available, at the request of the communities, to help the family of the abused to deal with the trauma that occurs along with the horrible behaviour that is carried on it our society. Thank you.

Thank you. Supplementary, Mr. Ningark.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. The only person who is available in the community to help these people is the social worker. According to my understanding, in the smaller communities, the social worker is not properly trained to deal with the matter. There are no specialists in the communities. Would the honourable Minister ensure that we have specialists in the communities to deal with this matter which is unacceptable to our society? Thank you.