Last February, the Collectif petite enfance, a collective of organizations dedicated to early childhood, commissioned a group of experts to help establish a Special Commission on the Rights of the Child and Youth Protection (Commission spéciale sur les droits des enfants et la protection de la jeunesse or CSDEPJ) Watchdog Committee. Two months later, Marie-Vincent, a member of the collective, was invited to serve on the committee when it was officially created.

The mandate of this committee presided by Martine Desjardins is to provide the general public as well as elected officials with impartial and objective information on the progress made in implementing the CSDEPJ report recommendations. The focus of the Marie-Vincent model is to provide services under one roof and to foster collaboration between various partners supporting young victims of sexual violence. It is fully aligned with the commissioners’ recommendations which rightly recognize the importance of working together for the benefit of the children.

Marie-Vincent is extremely proud to work alongside other committee members. It is a wonderful acknowledgement of our expertise and a great opportunity to develop partnerships with different organizations and researchers in the youth protection field.