“When I came to Marie-Vincent, my heart was shut inside a little shell. I was sad and angry. Now, there’s an openness around my heart. My heart is happy.” — Nathan
Where do your donations go?
When you give to Marie-Vincent Foundation, you’re helping to build a world free of sexual violence toward children and adolescents.
Services to children and adolescents victims of sexual
At Marie-Vincent, children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence receive specialized services adapted to their needs. The treatment provided is based on best practices and is recognized as being highly effective.
All services are provided under one roof: police, medical, psychosocial and socio-legal.
What are the treatment impacts?
The services provided at Marie-Vincent have a real impact on the developmental path of children and adolescents.
As a result of treatment, research has shown that children have:
- better self-esteem;
- fewer symptoms of anxiety;
- fewer symptoms of depression;
- fewer symptoms of post-traumatic stress;
- less sense of guilt.
Read the Victims of sexual violence program.
Watch the story of Julie, who received services from Marie-Vincent (in French only) :
“I’m ashamed of what I did, but with you, I never feel ashamed because I don’t feel judged.” — Alice
Services to children who have sexual behaviour problems
Working from a prevention perspective, the Marie-Vincent Foundation provides specialized therapeutic services to children who have sexual behaviour problems.
Few services are provided for these high-needs children across the province. Marie-Vincent wants to continue to be part of the solution for these children by helping them to develop in the best possible way.
What are the impacts of treatment?
The treatment provided at Marie-Vincent helps the child, among other things, to:
- identify, express and manage their emotions;
- recognize problematic sexual behaviours and their consequences;
- enhance their sex education;
- develop self-affirmation and self-protection skills.
These children are at high risk of becoming victims of sexual violence.When children better manage their emotions and recognizes the consequences of their actions, their sexual behaviour problems will stop. They can then develop to their full potential.
Read the Sexual behaviour problems program.
Services to parents
The disclosure of a sexual assault is an event that affects the entire family and can cause major psychological distress. Parents may also need help to better support their child in therapy. The presence and protection of parents is essential for young people.
Read the Victims of sexual violence program.
Prevention
To build a protective community for children and teens, Marie-Vincent Foundation is developing sexual violence prevention programs that focus on sex education and equal relationships.
We are developing innovative, easy-to-use turnkey tools intended for professionals, teachers, educators and families.
What are the impacts of prevention?
Children and teens will:
- be better equipped and educated about healthy sexuality and equal relationships;
- have better protection skills;
- better identify and disclose instances of sexual violence.
Adults who spend time with children (parents, extended families, professionals) will:
- improve their knowledge about psychosexual development;
- be capable to integrate education about sex and equal relationships
- be better equipped to receive disclosures.
For professionals, in addition to the impacts listed above, the training will help them:
- improve their knowledge about psychosexual development and sexual violence in order to improve their intervention practices.
Read the Prevention program.
Research
The Marie-Vincent Foundation is the only Child Advocacy Centre in Canada.
The Chaire interuniversitaire Marie-Vincent sur les agressions sexuelles, an inter-university chair on child sexual assault, brings together researchers and their students. It develops cutting-edge expertise in Québec in the area of sexual assault prevention, testing and intervention for children and teens.
Since it opened in 2005, the Chair has contributed to the development, evaluation and improvement of the services provided at Marie-Vincent, basing its work on best practices and data.
The work is carried out by the two co-chairholders, Dr. Martine Hébert (UQÀM) and Dr. Mirelle Cyr (Université de Montréal), as well as an associate researcher, Dr. Isabelle V. Daignault (Université de Montréal).
Read the Research program.
Together, we can help build a world free of sexual violence towards children and adolescents.
