Support offered

Direct assistance

Unconditional and without judgment

CALAS de l’Outaouais assists survivors of sexual assault aged 12 and over. Support offered is confidential and free of charge. The help offered is confidential and free. When a woman calls the Centre, we offer her a meeting as soon as possible to welcome her, support her, take care of her, identify her needs and explain the various services available to her.

How to apply for assistance?

Our intervention approaches

Support

We can support you in different steps according to your needs and decisions.

Many women wonder what recourse or options they have in relation to experiencing sexual violence. CALAS can provide information, support in decision-making processes, and accompany women in the different options available to them. Our team can help with filing a criminal complaint or with a professional order or an administrative body, as well as accompany survivors to access health and social services networks, or during their process of regaining power over their lives (e.g.: with an employer, confronting the aggressor, or telling a relative about the sexual assault).

Our presence allows us to provide information to a woman about her rights and choices.

Help for teenagers

If you are over 12 years old and have been sexually assaulted, CALAS counselors offer age-appropriate services to teenage girls. Whether or not the assault is recent or not. Our services are voluntary and free.

The main objectives of meeting together are to help you regain control of your life, to help you identify and express your emotions, to help you identify and reduce the consequences of the assault and to offer you a space to be listened to without any judgment. You do not need to report the abuse to the police to receive help. Our services are always free. We can meet at our office or if easier, come to your school to meet you.

From the age of 14 onwards, you do not have to inform your parents of your involvement with CALAS. If you wish, we can also accompany you to talk to them, so that they can help and support you. Before the age of 14, we must obtain permission from parents or guardians to provide services.

If you have any questions about CALAS services or your other options, you can call or write to us and a worker will respond.

Get help

Reception area

The reception area allows women who are waiting for support or who have already benefited from CALAS support to break the isolation and to meet with other women.

Thematic activities are organized monthly to equip women to develop ways to take care of themselves.

Support Groups

Support groups are offered during the day and evening. Five to six women survivors make up the support group, which is facilitated by two support workers.

The support group consists of 16 meetings, and are 2.5 hours per week, and allows women to break their isolation and work with other survivors of sexual assault on the impact of this violence in their lives.

Individual Meetings

These meetings help women to overcome the consequences of the sexual assault they have experienced, through problem solving and personal empowerment.

Individual follow-up consists of twelve one-hour meetings with a counselor. Different tools can be used depending on the needs of the woman.

Phone Support and Information

Do not hesitate to contact us to receive help or for any information concerning sexual violence. Our hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm.

For immediate support, contact the toll-free line for sexual assault survivors at 1-888-933-9007 or Info-Social, at 811 option 2.

Back

Emergency support

We provide emergency support and accompaniment (24/7) at hospitals for women aged 13 and over who have experienced a recent sexual assault (5 days or less).

If you have just experienced a sexual assault and are currently in the Outaouais region (Quebec), contact Info-Social at 811, option 2.

A CALAS worker will be able to come and meet you at a designated center to help you with your medical, informational, protection and compensation needs.

Only if you wish, a medical-legal examination can be performed by a physician in our presence. The support worker can accompany you in your decision making and also to ensure that the rights of the victim are respected.

If you have been sexually assaulted, the emergency support protocol ensures that you have the right :

To receive services.
To receive support at all times.
To be accompanied by a person of your choice during all stages of the intervention.
To accept or refuse :
- to undergo medical examinations
- to file a complaint
- to take the medical and legal exams right away.
To wait until you feel ready before taking the medical/social kit and exams and filing a complaint.
To say no or withdraw consent to medical/legal examinations.
To confidential health and social services from the age of 14, and at your own pace.
To be respected at all times.

The Process of Asking for Help

We recognize that it takes a lot of courage for survivors to ask for help. Many women we meet have never spoken about the sexual assault they experienced. If you believe, or know that you have experienced sexual assault, no matter what form it took or when you experienced it, CALAS can help you regain your power and reduce the impact of the assault.

When you call CALAS, we will propose an initial meeting within a few weeks to welcome you, support you, take care of your emotions, identify your needs and explain the different services we offer. This meeting also serves to ensure that CALAS is the best resource to help you at this time. After this meeting, if you decide to continue with CALAS, you will be able to choose between group or individual follow-up and your name will be put on the waiting list. You will also be given information about the reception area, as well as other resources available to you.

Apply for assistance

If you have experienced a sexual assault in the last 5 days, contact Info-social at 811, option 2.