Manitoba Nurses Union concerned that HSC staff only told of alleged sex assaults the next day
Posted July 8, 2025 4:52 pm.
Last Updated July 9, 2025 11:42 am.
The Manitoba Nurses Union is sounding the alarm, nearly a week after several Health Sciences Centre staff reported sexual assaults on campus.
“I was absolutely shocked when I heard that there had been a sexual assault right within the building, in the tunnels,” said Darlene Jackson, the president of the Manitoba Nurses Union: “I was absolutely appalled and shocked.”
According to police, the first staffer was approached on William near Furby, the second was in the hospital tunnels, and the third was confronted on Emily Street.
Police say the assaults took place between 7 and 8 p.m. on July 2.
Jackson says staff weren’t alerted to any danger until July 3, just after noon.
“It does beg the question: could some of this have been avoided?” asked Jackson.
Jackson says patients, visitors, and staff coming on the night shift at the time were unaware of the danger nearby.
“There was absolutely nothing put out that warned that something had happened and you should use extreme caution.”
The advice to stay alert came via email the next day. It reads in part: “What we know is that women in the surrounding community and on campus reported being assaulted by inappropriate touching or groping.”
However, Jackson says, “Certainly for nurses, the wording was very concerning. First of all, it was a sexual assault. There are no two other words that describes that.”
The email goes on to say the hospital security team swiftly intervened, and they will be reviewing the incident to see what further interventions could be implemented.
For Jackson, that’s finding a way to increase staffing of institutional safety officers, known as ISOs.
“What I hear is from nurses who are concerned about their safety, about their patients’ and visitors’, and families’ safety. I hear it from nurses saying like ‘This is not right, there is just not enough ISOs in this building.’”
Shared Health did not respond to requests for comment at this time.
Winnipeg police arrested a 28-year-old man the next day.
Jackson expressed her gratitude for that, but is hoping hospital leadership will improve their handling of incidents like this in the future.
