The gunman who killed 22 people in rural Nova Scotia in April 2020 was known to trade dental work for sex and take advantage of marginalized women, according to a report submitted to the inquest investigating the mass shooting. The report by members of the Avalon Sexual Assault Center and the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund released Thursday details findings from meetings held in the Halifax area with survivors of Gabriel Wortman’s abuse and others who interacted with the killer. Kristina Fifield, a trauma therapist at the Avalon center and one of the report’s authors, told the inquiry that the gunman’s power and privilege as a white dentist “allowed a continuum of violence to occur.” “This violence often seemed to prey on people who were vulnerable, marginalized and racialised,” Fifield said, adding that it lasted “many years”. Participants in those meetings said the gunman used his clinics in Halifax and Dartmouth, New York, to exploit African Nova Scotian women and sex workers. It was also reported that Wortman bragged about providing dental work at a discounted rate and would trade his services for sex when people couldn’t pay the full cost. The report said some participants said they felt they could trust Wortman because he received a grant from the provincial Department of Community Services to provide dental work to people receiving employment support, income assistance or disability support. He encouraged some of his clients who received income assistance to refer friends and family to his clinics with the promise of cash compensation, the report said. Wortman also encouraged some marginalized and racialized people to have their teeth pulled “to give them ‘a mouth full of beautiful teeth.’ The report also said the killer was known to make sexually suggestive comments to marginalized clients visiting his clinic. Fifield said she learned from attendees that the gunman often targeted black women and “was a well-known name among many African Nova Scotian communities.” Participants told the report’s authors that they did not feel safe reporting incidents of sexual violence or harassment to the police because of past experiences that marginalized people did not believe. The report also noted that “formal institutions have perpetuated, and continue to perpetuate, acts of violence and oppression” against many marginalized people, particularly indigenous and black people. Fifield said there should be an alternative to reporting a sexual assault to the police. “This is important for people who have had a long history and ongoing history of violence being used against them by the police and people in positions of power,” he said. Creating a “third-party” sexual assault reporting program is one of 21 recommendations in the report, which was the result of conversations with survivors of Wortman’s abuse. Other recommendations include more government funding for services for sex workers and people experiencing sexual violence, improved scrutiny of professionals who provide services to marginalized people, and a mandatory school curriculum covering gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, trafficking people and the intervention of passers-by. The report also calls for a 24-hour hotline for victims of sexual assault, increased funding for transitional housing for victims of gender-based violence and funding for community organizations to hire African Nova Scotian and Indigenous advocates to help people navigate the legal system and other services for victims of gender-based violence. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 15, 2022. This story was produced with financial assistance from Meta and the Canadian Press News Fellowship.
