Are there enough services for victims of violence?

WATCH ABOVE: Whether or not a victim of sexual assault chooses to report it to police, there are supports available to them.  

TORONTO – More than eight women have come forward with allegations they were physically or sexually assaulted by former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi in recent days.

None of the women have filed a criminal complaint. Ghomeshi has said in a Facebook post that any allegations sexual acts he committed were non-consensual are untrue.  Global News has reached out for comment from Ghomeshi numerous times, with no response.

More often than not, women never report sexual assault to the police, according to the YWCA.

Whether or not there is a police report, there are services for victims in Toronto – a lot of them – but are there enough?

“Our beds are always filled. Always filled,” Heather McGregor, CEO of YWCA Toronto said in an interview Friday. “So we unfortunately have to turn people away.”

There are 12 violence against women shelters in Toronto, staffed 24 hours a day with professionals and can house single women and women with children.

The YWCA has two shelters in Toronto with a total of 60 beds.

READ MORE: Can rough consensual sex lead to criminal convictions?

The YWCA also runs two group programs: Breakthrough, for women who have experienced various forms of violence, and Here to Help, for women and children getting out of violent situations.  McGregor said these programs are particularly effective because they let women know they’re not alone.

Their shelters too are staffed with professionals who can help with dealing with trauma, parenting, community engagement, immigration, legal assistance and settlements.

“Very often the women who are in our shelters are in a very tough economic situation, financially,” McGregor said. “In our shelters, a woman can stay for up to a year in a shelter. But living for a year in a shelter is very, very tough.”

The YWCA shelters can also help women find permanent, affordable housing – to get them away from violent situations.

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But accessing affordable housing in Toronto is difficult: the waitlist grew to a record 165,069 over the past year.

“There’s a huge, huge need for more affordable supportive housing in Toronto and of course this is not just for women who’ve experience abused, but generally there’s a huge crisis.”

A minority of women who’ve experienced sexual assault ever report it: according to the YWCA, only 33 of every 1,000 assaults are reported to the police.

The police

WATCH: (Oct. 30) Police chief urges sexual assault victims to come forward in wake of Jian Ghomeshi allegations

Since allegations about Ghomeshi have been raised, people have been asked why police haven’t opened an investigation. None of the women have filed a complaint with the police but they’ve spoken to the media  – mostly anonymously but two women have put their names and faces to the allegations.

So why don’t police open their own investigation? Police spokesperson Mark Pugash said in an interview Friday they don’t want to make the difficult process of coming to police any more daunting.

“Imagine how it would be construed if we were to call them up, it would be seen as heavy-handed, intimidating,” he said. “That’s a decision they get to make and we have no right to challenge them or do anything that they would view as pressure.”

The police are there to help women through the process, he said, whether that’s through filing charges or referring them to Victim’s Services – an independent body that helps victims of sexual assault whether or not they choose to come forward to police.

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Victims Services takes women referred by police as well as women who come to them independently. The first thing they often do after receiving a call for help is send a crisis team to meet the victim.

“We would send a crisis team out to meet with her at a location where she felt comfortable,” Bonnie Levine, the executive director of Victims Services Toronto said. “She might want to come in, but most often we go to the location of the victim. Our first priority would be to address her immediate medical needs.”

READ MORE: Police chief urges sexual assault victims to come forward

They encourage the woman to get to a victims support organization and might help with transportation. They’ll then start the process of getting her any medication she might need and advising her on why she should get a rape kit.

“Even if she’s not ready to press charges or go to the police and she doesn’t have to, to get a rape kit done,” Levine said. “But at least the evidence is there and it’s preserved if she ever does change her mind.”

Levine stressed her organization is not dependent on the police – they do take referrals but don’t report back to police.

Levine said the counsellors will also work to “normalize” the situation – effectively letting the woman know it’s ok.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, that what happened to you is causing this and there’s nothing wrong with you and normalizing those fears, normalizing concerns around coming forward that in the best of circumstances, it’s very difficult for women to do,” Levine said.

What else can be done?

Think about Mothers Against Drunk Driving, McGregor said. Decades ago, drunk driving was accepted and if ever criticized, done so quietly and behind closed doors.

Now – after years of lobbying and publicizing – people rarely think twice about stopping someone from drunk driving, or being a designated driver.

That kind of public awareness is what’s needed to stop violence against women.

“I actually think what needs to be done and has been happening just recently is the whole public awareness of the issue of women assault is something that is important to be brought out in the public. People need to be discussing it,” McGregor said.

READ MORE: Why don’t victims or bystanders report sexual assault?

She admitted more people have been talking about domestic violence more recently as allegations against Ghomeshi, as well as NFL players Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice make headlines internationally.

The YWCA is launching a wristband campaign that says, “It’s not ok, you need to intervene when you see it,” in an attempt to let people know domestic violence should not be accepted as normal.

– With files from Christina Stevens