Welcome to the premier issue of SHE

— the Canadian Women’s Foundation magazine!

 

SHE is full of inspiring stories about how your gift to the Canadian Women’s Foundation helps women and girls in Canada to move out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence.

Women and girls have come a long way but still experience shockingly high rates of violence and poverty. And as you probably know, over the last 10 years many of the organizations that used to speak out for women and girls in Canada have either been shut down or had their funding slashed.

It is essential we continue to speak out, and I hope you agree SHE adds a valuable new voice to the conversation. I invite you to join the conversation!

Stop the violence

 
At the Canadian Women’s Foundation, we want every woman to live free from violence.
 
 
 

“That first night at the shelter, I finally felt safe. For the first time in thirteen years, I actually slept through the night. It was a new beginning. A turning point.”

“We performed the ‘Many Faces of Abuse’ play at our high school. It was all quiet when we were doing it. Even a few days later, people were still like – ‘Wow, that was kind of intense.’”

“Now I know the kind of treatment I deserve. I am willing to put a lot of love and work into a relationship, but I expect to be treated with respect.”

We help women in Canada to move out of violence by funding emergency shelters, support programs, and effective follow-up programs. We also invest in school-based violence-prevention programs, where girls and boys learn how to stop the violence — for good.

• 2011 violence prevention programs (PDF)
• 2012 violence prevention programs (PDF)

How did a conversation between two friends start a chain of events that would touch the lives of thousands of women and girls in Canada?

In 1986, there was no umbrella organization in Canada designed for people who were interested in advancing women’s equality.

But in March of that year, two grade school chums – Nancy Ruth Jackman and Susan Woods – would have a conversation that not only changed that fact, but also start a chain of events that, decades later, has improved the lives of thousands of women and girls across Canada. … READ MORE
 

 

Our Herstory

In 1983, eight women formed the Ottawa Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC). They didn’t have much – a $40 donation, a rented post office box, and a month’s pager service – but they had a vision. Making a commitment to working collectively, they vowed to provide services to incest survivors, to create a lesbian-positive centre, to engage in political action, and to develop a centre run by and for survivors. At the time, the idea of a survivor directed model was radical and controversial. In the Ottawa-Carleton region, SASC was the first to implement such a model, incorporating the experience and knowledge of survivors in all aspects of support work. Providing services to incest survivors was also controversial at the time, yet SASC was the first to offer self-help support groups to incest survivors, as well as to children.

Julie White, our first Board Chair
“Now, there are thousands of us…”

The Canadian Women’s Foundation started twenty years ago with a small group of women who shared a dream – to create a Foundation that would result in real changes for women, that would be run by women, for women. READ MORE
 

 

The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa (SASC)

 
Our Approach

Today, SASC is unique in its ongoing commitment to working collectively and taking a survivor-directed approach. Working within a survivor-directed framework means that all work and training is based on survivors’ experiences and knowledge. Instead of seeing survivors as unfit to provide support, SASC acknowledges and values the immense knowledge and expertise that is possessed by women who have had these experiences. SASC recognizes the importance of sharing this experience and knowledge relating to violence against women, and how giving survivors a voice works to break the feelings of isolation and increase the strength and solidarity among all women.

By working as a collective, SASC rejects the very type of hierarchical social structures responsible for many of our society’s oppressions. In a collective, all women have an equal voice and equal power in decision-making. In a collective, all members share tasks, rewards and mistakes. Instead of being individually oriented, a collective structure gains its strength from the individual differences in knowledge and skills of its members. Tasks and skills are shared among all collective members, and all work positions are treated equally, meaning power is not concentrated in the hands of a few. Rather, all women’s work is valued equally.

The decision to work as a collective is an integral part of SASC’s identity, because it stems from and reflects the very philosophies and politics that SASC is built on. As a grassroots feminist organization, SASC’s main objective is to end violence against women and children. SASC sees this type of violence as being about power, control, and domination (all the things that working collectively seeks to reject), and includes the larger context of all forms of violence. It is impossible to isolate violence against women from other oppressions, because women do not exist separate from other identities, such as those based on race, class, sexual preference, ability, etc. Therefore, a commitment to ending violence against women also involves a commitment to end all other forms of oppression. Anti-oppression work is thus integral to all work carried out at SASC.
 

STATISTICS ON SEXUAL ASSAULT IN CANADA – READ MORE HERE

Crisis line: We have a crisis line twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This line can be used for crisis situations, support around healing issues and information. The number is (613) 234-2266.

Individual Support: Individual counseling for women who have experienced violence is available upon request at the Centre, as our resources permit. We offer 8 week support and 6 months support. There are waiting lists for both. For information, please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Quick Response 3X Appointments: We offer three time appointments where we will provide immediate crisis support, information on coping strategies and referrals to other services. For information, please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Accompaniments/Advocacy: As resources permit, we accompany survivors to medical and legal appointments in order to provide physical and emotional support to the woman. We also assist women by writing letters of support, and helping her write letters requesting services as well as letters of complaint. For information, please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Support Groups: We offer support groups to women survivors of sexual assault. The groups usually have between 8-10 women, and 2 SASC facilitators. The duration of the groups are usually once a week for 20 weeks, and the topics discussed are chosen by the group members themselves. For information please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Drop-in: Through our roving drop-in, we offer support, advocacy and workshops for women at various sites in your community. For information, please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Young Women At Risk (YWAR): The YWAR program provides confidential support and advocacy to young women (14 -24) survivors of violence. YWAR supports women around many issues including physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, anger and anger solutions, homelessness/street involvement, criminalization and conflict with the law, pregnancy and parenting, and healthy relationships and families. YWAR offers on-going outreach, groups and individual support. For more information, please contact 725-2160 ext 224 or the YWAR Coordinator .

Women and War Program: Through this program SASC offers direct support and advocacy services to women who have survived war trauma and violence and are now living in the Ottawa-Carleton Region. We also provide information and referrals whenever we can. For information please contact ourWomen and War coordinator at 725-2160 ext 225.

Ritual Abuse Program: SASC provides support to women survivors of ritual and cult abuse. The program consists of crisis line support group support as well as some individual support at SASC. For information please contact our Direct Service Coordinator at 725-2160 ext. 227.

Public Awareness and Education: SASC provides public awareness and education services to our community. We present workshops in schools, places of business, other community centres, etc. For information please contact our Public Education Coordinator at 725-2160 ext 233.

Fundraising and Special Events: To raise awareness of our services and funds to continue to offer our services, SASC hosts many fundraising events throughout the year. If you would like to donate, or if you would like information about any planned events, please contact our Fundraising Coordinator at 725-2160 ext 221

 

Women Moving Women

 
What started as the Women Moving Women campaign is now a movement …

Together we have helped 2,500 women to participate in life-changing economic development programs that teach them a skilled trade, help them start a small business, or get work experience.

The campaign was such a success it sparked the beginning of the national Women Moving Women movement.

Join the movement!

Beginning today, every $2,500 that is raised (through one gift or many gifts) will help one woman and her children begin her journey out of poverty.

CANADIAN Women are Taking Action!