A researcher on intimate partner violence is calling on British Columbia to increase funding for forensic nurses, citing a critical service gap for survivors across most regions.
Amanda McCormick, an associate professor in criminology at the University of the Fraser Valley, spoke at a symposium on non-fatal strangulation. She says strangulation signs are often hidden but can cause serious harm, including brain injury.
Forensic nurses are trained to document injuries in a way that maintains evidence chain-of-custody for court, a skill most doctors lack.
Adrienne Olszewski, a forensic nurse specialist, says the examiner acts as a bridge between medical and legal systems. Currently, only 10 percent of patients in Canada receive such exams. “We have an opportunity to detect injury,” she says, “Right now, we aren’t getting that level of evidence.”
McCormick says forensic nurses typically work “on a casual basis… on call,” leaving a gap in most of the province. She urges fully-funded 24/7 on-site forensic nurses for all forms of gender-based violence.
There is no forensic nursing in northern B.C. In the Interior, they are only used in cases involving sexual assault-even if there’s no sexual component but strangulation is present, victims may get no service.
Tiffany Kafka, a forensic nurse with Fraser Health, says her region is the only one with on-site, fully funded hospital positions. A pilot project in Surrey and Abbotsford placed nurses on-site from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, with on-call overnight. Demand jumped 183 percent in 12 months.
The B.C. Health Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.