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| Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres | |
|---|---|
| Name | Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres |
| Abbreviation | CASAC |
| Formation | 1984 |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Region served | Canada |
Canadian Association of Sexual Assault Centres is a national network linking local sexual assault centres, crisis lines, and community organizations across Canada, providing coordination among service providers in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and other urban and rural centres. The association functions as a collective voice in interactions with federal bodies such as Health Canada, provincial ministries like Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General and British Columbia Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General, and international forums including United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and World Health Organization. Member centres engage with frontline responders including Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Toronto Police Service, Vancouver Police Department, and health institutions such as Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and McGill University Health Centre to coordinate care.
The network traces origins to the emergence of community-based sexual assault crisis services in the 1970s, influenced by movements around the Women's Liberation Movement, feminist collectives in Toronto, and survivor advocacy connected to events like the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry. Early collaborative efforts involved coalitions with organizations such as Vancouver Rape Relief and Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre that later affiliated with a national body formed in the 1980s to respond to legislative developments including the Canadian Criminal Code amendments and public inquiries like the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182. Through the 1990s and 2000s the association engaged with national campaigns coordinated with groups such as Canadian Women's Foundation, Native Women's Association of Canada, and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to expand services and influence policy.
The association's mission emphasizes survivor-centred support aligned with standards promoted by organizations like World Health Organization, Health Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada, while advancing objectives related to trauma-informed practice endorsed by institutions such as Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Objectives include strengthening member capacity in collaboration with funders such as Department of Justice (Canada), coordinating public awareness campaigns similar to those of Campaign Against Sexual Violence and Take Back the Night, and contributing to policy reform paralleling efforts by Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Canadian Bar Association.
The association is governed by a board of directors composed of representatives from regional member centres including provincial coalitions like Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Services and Nova Scotia Advisory Council on the Status of Women. Operational staff coordinate national projects and liaise with partners such as Canadian Red Cross, United Way Centraide Canada, and academic partners at University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and McGill University. Membership comprises local sexual assault centres, crisis lines, and campus groups such as University of Ottawa Student Union and Queen's Counseling Service, with network communications facilitated through conferences linked to venues like Metro Toronto Convention Centre and collaborations with professional bodies including the Canadian Psychological Association.
Member centres provide services including 24-hour crisis lines modeled on hotlines like Distress Centres of Greater Toronto, hospital-based sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) programs in hospitals such as St. Michael's Hospital, survivor counselling akin to services at Family Service Toronto, and community outreach paralleling initiatives by Immigrant Women's Services Ottawa and Women’s Shelters Canada. National programmatic efforts coordinate training curricula similar to those developed by Centre for Research & Education on Violence Against Women & Children and resource development comparable to publications from Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women. Specialized services address intersections with organizations such as Prisoners' Legal Services, Status of Women Canada initiatives, and Indigenous-focused programs in partnership with Assembly of First Nations and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
The association participates in law reform and public policy advocacy interacting with institutions like Parliament of Canada, provincial legislatures including the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and human rights bodies such as the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Advocacy campaigns have intersected with movements represented by #MeToo movement, legislative reviews of sexual violence provisions in the Criminal Code (Canada), and national strategies coordinated with the National Action Plan on Violence Against Women and Girls and stakeholders such as Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action. The association files submissions and collaborates with commissions of inquiry including those focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women linked to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
Research partnerships include collaborations with university research centres like Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, applied health research institutes such as Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, and community research initiatives connected to Société de recherche sur la violence conjugale. Training programs are developed with professional associations including the Canadian Nurses Association, Canadian Medical Association, and educational outreach leveraging curricula from Canadian Centre for Child Protection and campus partners like University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine. The association contributes to national data collection and program evaluation aligning with statistics from Statistics Canada and reports by organizations such as Canadian Observatory on Homelessness.
Funding streams encompass project grants from federal departments like Department of Justice (Canada), provincial funding agreements with bodies such as Ontario Ministry of Health, and philanthropic contributions from organizations like Canadian Women's Foundation, Tides Canada Foundation, and private donors. Strategic partnerships include collaborations with emergency services such as Canadian Red Cross, health networks like Provincial Health Services Authority (British Columbia), legal service providers including Legal Aid Ontario, and international donors connected to UN Women and Global Affairs Canada programs. Networks of referral and coordination extend to shelters represented by Shelter Movers Network and crisis response coalitions similar to Domestic Violence Action Committee.
Category:Sexual assault support organizations in Canada