Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (DVSACC)

Services are available at the Oshawa Hospital to respond to:

• Individuals who have experienced a sexual assault within the past 12 days.
• Individuals who have been assaulted by a partner within the past two weeks.
• Children who have been, or are suspected to have been, sexually assaulted/sexually exploited in the past seven days.

As a victim of sexual and/or intimate partner violence, it is imperative for you to seek care as soon as possible.

Treatment and evidence collection are time sensitive. You need to be seen as soon as possible. We are here for you.

How we can help

We provide you with options so you can make the best decisions in your care. This can include:

• Acute (within 12 days) injury assessment and treatment.
• Information, testing, and prophylactic antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections.
• Prophylactic antiviral medications to prevent HIV.
• The emergency contraceptive pill to prevent pregnancy.
• Arranging follow-up medical care.
• Information and referral to community resources.
• Supportive counselling.
• Testimony in court from one of our nurses.

Accessing our Services

Please visit the Oshawa Hospital Emergency Department for acute services (within 12 days of the assault). Should your injuries be serious in nature, call 911 or visit your nearest Emergency Department and you will be referred to our team who will facilitate your care.

For care over 12 days from the assault, please call the DVSACC at 905-576-8711, extension 33286. We will arrange a time to meet in person, by phone, or virtually. For individuals who visit the Emergency Department for this care, a referral to the DVSACC will be made and our staff will contact you on our next business day.

Upon arrival at the Emergency Department, a staff member will contact one of the Forensic Nurse Examiners from the DVSACC to support you.

The involvement of police is your decision and will be respected by our staff.

You will be seen by a doctor and your injuries will be attended to. Our DVSACC Nurse Examiner will discuss with you options of care. The services offered may include:

• Information, testing, and prophylactic antibiotics to prevent sexually transmitted infections.
• Prophylactic antiviral medications to prevent HIV.
• The emergency contraceptive pill to prevent pregnancy.
• Arranging follow-up medical care.
• Information and referral to community resources.
• Supportive counselling.
• Upon consent and if the assault occurred within the past 12 days, collection and recording of physical evidence for completion of a forensic evidence kit, which may be used in legal proceedings.

There is no right or wrong way to feel after an assault. Some people experience reactions directly after the assault, while others may have reactions days, weeks, or months later. These reactions can be overwhelming and may interfere with your everyday life. Some of the normal reactions that you may experience are: 

• Anger
• Sadness
• Fear
• Shame
• Guilt
• Loneliness
• Betrayal 
• Grief
• Helplessness
• Numbness
• Changes in your appetite
• Changes in your sleeping pattern
• Changes in your sex drive
• Not able to concentrate
• Unable to stop thinking about the assault
• Feeling like nobody understands
• Lacking confidence
• Not feeling like yourself

During this time, caring for yourself is really important.

• Try to eat healthy food to help keep up your strength.
• Try to keep doing the things that make you feel good.
• Know your rights and how to get the help you need.
• Say positive things to yourself to restore your sense of well-being, like “I am strong,” “I did not deserve this,” “I am taking back my personal power,” “I am healing each and every day.”
• Be patient with yourself. It takes time to recover.
• Believe in yourself and know that you will get through this.

You do not have to recover on your own. There is support available to you.

Please contact us if you would like to come and see one of our counsellors.

Sexual assault is any form of unwanted sexual contact that is forced upon someone without that person’s consent. If you have experienced sexual assault, know that there is help and support for you. You do not have to experience this alone.

When you arrive at the hospital, a specially trained nurse from our program will be paged and will meet you in the Emergency Department. These nurses are called Forensic Nurse Examiners who are on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can spend time with you in a private space and room to help you cope with what has happened and to help you understand your options.

It is your choice whether you want to involve police. It is your choice if you would like evidence collected. The nurse will support you around making these very difficult choices.

The DVSACC can support you with:

• Immediate care
• Collection of forensic evidence
• Forensic photography
• Safety planning
• Follow-up medical treatment
• Counselling services
• Resources/community referrals

Domestic violence and abuse do not discriminate, but it often escalates and places the person experiencing violence at great risk. Domestic violence and abuse can be physical, emotional, verbal, financial, psychological, or sexual, and is often used as a weapon of control and intimidation by spouse or partner.

It is never okay for someone to hurt you. Your safety is very important. If you or somebody you know is experiencing violence in their relationship, know that help is available. Call us or check out our resources for more information.

If you are in need of medical attention due to a recent incident of physical domestic violence, please visit the DVSACC at the Oshawa Hospital or go to your nearest Emergency Department. Care from the DVSACC is available 24 hours a day every day of the year.

In addition to medical and forensic services, Lakeridge Health’s DVSAC Clinic offers outpatient first stage trauma support to individuals aged 16+ who have been assaulted within the past year. Services include psychoeducation, referrals, and counselling or psychotherapy that will largely focus on the acute effects of the assault and regaining a sense of safety and control. Services are based at the Oshawa site and are provided by a female Social Worker by phone, video, or in-person appointments. External referrals are made by directly contacting the DVSACC secretary.

Inclusion: 

• Individuals 16 years of age and older who have experienced an incident of sexual assault or domestic violence in the past year. 
• Only acute services are offered with the focus on Stage One Trauma Treatment and historic sexual assault is better treated in an external Trauma Program. 
• The individual is not currently receiving therapy. 

Exclusion: 

• The incident of assault occurred more than 1 year ago.
• The person has not achieved a level of stabilization for basic needs and would benefit from case management prior to treatment.   
• Moderate/severe impairment of cognitive/neurological function (for example due to dementia, acquired brain injury, developmental or intellectual disabilities) 
• Active psychosis or mania 
• Problematic substance use that would impact their ability to actively participate in treatment 
• Active involvement in other psychotherapy treatments 
• Active involvement in ECT or recent course of ECT 

Referrals

• 905-576-8711 ext. 34144
• Fax: 905-440-7560.
• Email: CentralConnectMHA@lh.ca.
• Use the patient self referral form.
• Use the health care provider e-referral form.

• Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres 

• Region of Durham Emergency Shelter/Housing