Background: The World Health Organization defines sexual violence as “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic or otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work” (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi, & Lozano, 2002, p. 149). In Canada, sexual assault is one of the leading violent offences committed against women and find one in three women living in Canada will experience sexual assault during their lifetime (Benoit, Shumka, Phillips, Kennedy, Belle-Isle, 2015). Aims: To identify the services being provided to survivors of sexual assault in rural, remote and small communities in British Columbia, and consider the potential gaps and limitations of the services being offered to increase accessibility for survivors. To examine how significant challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting services and to identify directions for future research. Method: A literature search on Google Scholar from January 2020 to the present day (November 2020) was conducted using the key words sexual assault services, survivors, social workers, social work, accessibility, rural, and COVID-19 pandemic to identify research on the services available to survivors of sexual assault in remote, rural and small communities in British Columbia. The research project was designed using critical research methodology, reflexivity practice, and anti-oppressive anti-privilege (AOAP) theory and practice (Mullaly & West, 2018). Findings: Busch-Armendariz, Johnson, Buel, Lungwitz, and Jordan (2011) stress the importance of having an interdisciplinary team when working with survivors of sexual assault. However, there is a possibility that more women experiencing intimate partner violence may be overlooked as health care workers will be extremely busy handling the pandemic and the rise of COVID-19 cases. Conclusion:Social work services for sexual assault survivors in rural, remote and small urban communities should provide adequate, accessible and appropriate changes from the micro, mezzo and macro level. Achieving this will require further studies on how to create these changes.
