Direct assistance
Direct assistance services are intended for women and teenage girls age 12 and up who have experienced sexual violence and who want to undertake an assistance process.
Sessions may also be provided for the loved ones of people who have been sexually assaulted.
Any person who wishes to receive services from CALACS L’Ancrage must live in the area served, meaning the following six regional county municipalities: Rivière-du-Nord, Pays-d’en-Haut, Mirabel, Argenteuil, Thérèse-de-Blainville and Deux-Montagnes.
To request direct assistance services, you must contact CALACS L’Ancrage so that a counsellor can handle the request.
Support group for women who have been sexually assaulted
For many years, CALACS L’Ancrage has prioritized support groups that take a feminist perspective. Through the power of the group, women can better reduce the consequences of sexual violence.
For a maximum length of 16 sessions, including one information session, the support group’s general objective is to help women reclaim power over their lives individually and collectively. More specifically, it enables women to:
- experience affirmation within a safe space;
- recognize their strengths in order to foster the development of confidence and autonomy;
- become aware of the impacts of sexual violence;
- break the silence and isolation by sharing their experiences;
- experience solidarity and mutual aid among women.
A number of methods are used to meet these objectives, such as discussions, creative journaling exercises, collages, letters, texts, body exercises and more. Various topics are also addressed at each session, chosen based on the group’s needs and the time available. These may include:
- Affirmation
- Anger
- Communication
- De-victimization: choice vs. subjection
- Disclosure
- Emotions
- Self-esteem and self-confidence
- Boundaries
- Shame/guilt
- Intimacy and body image
- Inner child
- Loss/grief
- Fears
- Sexuality
- Socialization/myths and prejudices
Individual sessions
To introduce CALACS L’Ancrage, assess women’s everyday lives with them and identify their needs, strengths and support systems, one or two individual sessions are generally provided before a support group gets under way. While CALACS L’Ancrage focuses on support groups, it is possible that some women may not be able to engage in such a process. The appropriateness of group support will be assessed during these sessions, and a maximum of 13 individual sessions may be provided instead, depending on the situation.
Support for loved ones
Support is available for the loved ones of people who have experienced sexual violence.
CALACS L’Ancrage offers one to three sessions.
The objectives of providing support for loved ones are to:
- equip loved ones with ways to strengthen their helpful attitudes;
- provide them with a safe space in which to express themselves;
- listen and provide referrals;
- break their isolation and silence.
Telephone assistance and referrals
CALACS L’Ancrage offers a telephone assistance and referral service to anyone concerned by sexual violence. This service is provided based on the team’s availability.
The objectives of the assistance and referral service are to:
- listen and discern the caller’s needs;
- provide callers with information about sexual violence and about its services;
- refer callers to appropriate resources.
For urgent requests, please call the Info-Social line at 811, or call the provincial sexual assault hotline (24/7) at 1 888 933-9007.
Accompaniment to various institutions
The accompaniment service is available to women and teenage girls who already have services with CALACS L’Ancrage.
A counsellor may accompany a woman in the steps she takes following her experience of sexual violence.
The objectives of accompaniment are to:
- provide information and demystify institutions, particularly the legal system;
- provide moral support;
- defend women’s rights;
- support women in their thought process about the possibility of filing a complaint;
- facilitate women’s free and informed choice.
