A coalition of sexual assault survivors groups is calling on the Quebec government to allow them to audit police investigations of sexual assault.
The audit of such police cases is currently being done in some cities in the U.S. and the Quebec Coalition of Sexual Assault Centres says Quebec police forces should do the same here.
Marlihan Lopez said it would go a long way to healing a growing rift between police and survivors of sexual assault.
Last week the Sureté du Quebec released information about its handling of some 800 cases of sexual assault cases between 2014 and 2016.
The SQ says the number of cases considered unfounded was 12 percent, and not the 21 percent as reported by the Globe and Mail in February.
The SQ said it was satisfied these cases were handled correctly and saw no need to analyze them further or change its methods.
But Lopez said a lack of outside analysis is a huge missed opportunity, saying if police say cases are unfounded, that means police do not belive a crime was committed.
"It's a missed opportunity. We could have improved public confidence in the way police treat sexual assault cases and we're just telling survivor victims that unfortunately they're going to risk re-victimization, especially marginalized communities," said Lopez.
Quebec's government has called for an inquiry into system racism after two police officers were charged with sexually assaulting indigenous women in Schefferville -- while more than a dozen women who filed complaints in Val D'Or had their case dismissed because the Crown did not believe it could prove crimes had been committed.
Retired Superior Court Justice Jacques Viens will look at how police and other institutions handle cases involving minorities.
