Tofino, BC – Under a canopy of warm holiday lights from within Tofino’s community hall, dozens of West Coast residents gathered for a day-long workshop to take meaningful steps towards ending sexual violence. Hosted by the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust in partnership with the Westcoast Community Resources Society (WCRS), the urgency of the November 18 gathering was tied to an alarming crime statistic – in Tofino and the neighbouring Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations communities of Ty-Histanis, Esowista and Ahousaht, the rate of sexual assault is vastly higher than other municipalities. According to crime statistics gathered by police, the Tofino region saw a rate of level 1 sexual assault that was three times greater than reported in Whistler over the past four years, and much higher than Ucluelet and Port Alberni as well.
Last year the Tofino region had 346.5 level 1 sexual assaults per 100,000 population, compared to 162 for Whistler, 191 in Ucluelet and 200 in Port Alberni. Level 1 sexual assault includes attacks of a sexual nature that do not cause physical injuries.
WCRS Executive Director Laurie Hannah says the police-reported incidences of sexual assault from 2019 to 2023 are split evenly between Tofino and the offshore community of Ahousaht, located about 40-minutes by boat from Tofino’s First Street Dock. Hannah thinks Tofino’s “huge influx of seasonal employees” might contribute to the area’s relatively high rate of sexual assault, but notes that the region�.
