Sexual assault charges in the nation’s capital have increased by 30 per cent in the last five years. An analysis of Statistics Canada crime data shows that Ottawa had also the largest increase in the province – but that doesn’t mean there are more sexual assaults in the city, just that police are laying more charges.

This is a trend that support workers like Tara Henderson understand all too well. She wasn’t surprised — or concerned — by the change.

“Women are pushing other women and encouraging them to seek justice,” said Henderson, a public educator from the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre.

Henderson credits public education campaigns and social media for fuelling conversations about sexual assault. She said demand for services at the crisis centre shot up this past year and triple the number of people are receiving public education.

Erin Leigh from the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women said the sexual assault allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi changed how people think about the crime.

“Because of the type of work he did, there was a level of trust. People felt betrayed,” said Leigh about the Ghomeshi scandal. “It really personalized sexual assault and challenged the myth about stranger danger… It can happen to people (who) you know, it’s not always the creepy dude in the bushes.”

Leigh also said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s $41-million action plan to curb sexual assault has also pushed violence against women into the public eye with their #WhoWillYouHelp campaign.

“Today, if you walk into a public bathroom stall, you will see a poster for a public education campaign,” said Yami Msosa, a support worker at the Sexual Assault Centre of Ottawa.

For Msosa, hearing there’s been a bump in charges in the city wasn’t bad news.

“It’s phenomenal,” she said.“But even though there’s been an increase, there is still a large percentage of individuals who are not reporting it.”

And that is the biggest challenge when it comes to collecting reliable data about sexual violence: the disclosure rate.

“The disclosure rate is so low, it’s hard to get a true sense of who is being impacted,” said Henderson.

A 2013 study by University of Ottawa criminology professor Holly Johnson found that of every 1000 sexual assaults in Canada, only 33 are reported to police, 12 have charges laid, and only three lead to conviction.

“When women hear those statistics, considering the amount of time it takes to go through the justice system, reconnect with a tragic experience, sometimes with no legal representation… It can be daunting to think of oneself going through it,” said Henderson.

Ottawa Police Staff Sgt. Angela McDade from the Sexual Assault Unit said it’s common for women to report a crime and not want to lay a charge.

“Many times they are willing to tell us their story, but at the end of the day some women just want that person warned,” said Sgt. McDade.

Sgt. McDade said the Ottawa Police haven’t seen a significant change in the number of sexual assault charges. Yet, from 2013 to 2014 they received 13 per cent more reports of the crime. She said the Ottawa Police are also educating officers to not write off a sexual assault report as unfounded until they can absolutely confirm it didn’t happen.

Still, sexual assault clearance rates remain high because the crime usually happens behind closed doors and there is often not enough evidence to support a charge — something McDade said shouldn’t discourage women to come forward.

“Although reporting won’t change what happened to them, it may hold an offender accountable and empower the survivor to regain control in their life.”