The number of young people who disclose situations of sexual violence is increasing, and the need for therapeutic services for these young people is growing. Marie-Vincent Foundation would like to open a second point-of-service in the Montérégie region, to help a larger number of young people and their families.
Sexual violence among young people
- One in five girls, and one in ten boys, report having been the victim of sexual assault during their childhood.
- According to the Ministry of Public Safety, children aged 17 and under account for 50 % of victims of sexual assault.
- In their 2020 annual report, Québec’s Youth Protection Directors note that 2,716 reports for sexual abuse and 1,677 reports of serious risk of sexual abuse were filed in Québec that year.
And physical abuse…
- In 2020, 11,022 reports were filed in Québec for this reason.
Despite this reality, very few specialised therapeutic services are offered to children. In order to meet these needs, Marie-Vincent Foundation will expand its range of services to help young victims of physical abuse with this project.
A collaborative model
As we do at our Montréal centre, the objective is always to put the child’s needs at the heart of our intervention.
To achieve this, we are mobilising regional partners to offer all the necessary services to young people and families under one roof, in an inviting environment that meets their needs, in an effort to minimise potential secondary trauma. Children and their families will receive all services in one location, from disclosure to completion of therapy.
As part of this pilot project, we are working in concert with the different partners involved in a situation of sexual or physical violence experienced by a young person in order to promote better coordination of interventions in the best interests of the child.
By working together with young people and their families, these partners can help:
- prevent a child from having to travel to several locations to receive all the services he needs;
- make sure that there will be no gap in the service and support;
- better support them in all the difficulties and hardships they may go through;
- facilitate intervention in cases of multiple and complex issues.
Services that will be offered
- Police investigation interview for young victims of sexual and physical violence
- Medical examination for young victims of sexual and physical violence
- Psychosocial intervention service for parents and adolescents
- Multi-sectoral assessment of the needs of children and adolescents
- Therapeutic services for children and adolescent victims of sexual and physical violence and for children under 12 who have sexual behaviour problems
- Socio-legal services
- Services will also be offered by our partners from health and social services network(Youth Programs, Mental Health, Addiction programs and Deficiencies Programs Department)
In short, a second Marie-Vincent Foundation centre would make it possible to offer services to young victims of sexual and physical abuse and to their families under one roof, working together with our partners, throughout the journey.
It is a unique, innovative and very promising model.