Anonymous online reporting tool empowers survivors to share their stories

A new website will give sexual assault survivors in London, Ont. a chance to share their stories without going to the police.  

MapMyExperience.ca is an alternative reporting platform created by Anova, London's agency for gender-based violence, as part of London's SafeCities initiative. It is expected to launch this week, initially targeting post-secondary students before rolling out for the rest of the city. The website allows survivors to report their experiences anonymously, and for advocates to use the data to initiate change. 

"We have the criminal justice system. It works at times for perpetrators and individual accountability, but we know that [up to] 90 per cent of survivors don't choose to go through that system," said Annalise Trudell, Anova's manager of prevention education and research. 

"This provides Londoners with local data that is also matched to space, so we can invite and in fact even possibly pressure spaces to do better." 

How it works 

A user drops a pin on a map to indicate where an assault took place. They are required to respond to two questions about what happened, and have the option to answer six more about identity. The required questions will help a community action committee led by Anova to track and observe trends. 

"Not only do survivors get a place where now they can have their story count and be told, but we also get a way of holding [people who oversee] spaces accountable through this mechanism," said Trudell.  

Higher rates of sexual violence among students

The idea for an alternative reporting project emerged after learning of allegations that up to 30 young women were drugged and sexually assaulted at a first-year residence at Western University in 2021. While those allegations were widely reported through social media, no one made formal complaints with police about alleged incidents at the residence. Several unrelated sexual assault complaints were reported to police that September. 

"We know that for that demographic they experience sexual violence at higher rates," Trudell said. "That's both because of their age but also because of the subculture they're part of. So they're in more need of this." 

Gathering student responses will help Anova optimize the site before it is made more widely available to Londoners, Trudell said. 

"I think there's a lot of stigma around coming forward and reporting [sexual assault]," said Sophia Turski, a second year health sciences student at Western University. "Had [the website] been available in the past, maybe more victims would have come forward…it's great that it's here now." 

Reporting anonymously online would be easier than doing so in person, said another student. 

"It's hard to deal with that and approach someone and tell them your situation, and really trust that person," said second-year student Sophie Bourguignon.  

The tool could be used to support friends who have been assaulted, added sciences student Michelle In. 

"I feel that most of the time, sexual assaults happen with the people you know in friend groups," said In. "It's harder to come forward about things, especially if it's impacting the people in your life." 

Goal of website is awareness, not enforcement

Many survivors face barriers preventing them from reporting to police, according to a media release from Anova. 

Survivors often fear consequences when disclosing, along with the trauma of recounting experiences. 

It is a lengthy process that takes more than two years on average, and perpetrator convictions for sexual assault are some of the lowest numbers of any crime. 

The purpose of the platform is not enforcement, Trudell said. Rather, its success will be measured by how much information it gathers. The data will be compiled into a report on an annual basis so the public can see what is occurring. 

"We will have a much better sense of who this is happening to, and we'll be able to then sort of push systems and create advocacy around those issues," said Trudell. 

The website will also be the only "one-stop-shop," she said, available for survivors to find information around supports in London.