About Us

Mission

The Table de concertation sur les agressions à caractère sexuel de Montréal is an association of regional organizations dedicated to promoting the cause of sexual assault victims.

• Promote and foster respect for the rights of sexual assault victims
• Promote the existence and consolidation of high-quality services
• Foster the exchange of information and cooperation among resources and the distribution of this information to all organizations concerned
• Act as consultants, resource persons and experts on crimes of a sexual nature, and voice opinions and recommendations
• Promote the maintenance and development of prevention programs

• Encourage training of members and other caregivers/practitioners

Members of TCACSM

Click here for a complete list of our members.

History

Since 1977: Over 37 years of working together to fight sexual assault

The first outreach initiative dates back to 1975, when the Montreal police force and the Centre d'aide pour victimes de viol in cooperation with the Council on the Status of Women demanded that an intervention protocol be implemented at designated hospitals for treating victims of sexual assault. Although the hospitals were responsible for putting the protocol into practice, they continued to be reluctant to accept victims, and police officers were still obligated to make the rounds of several hospitals before finding one that would accept a sexual assault victim.

This reluctance impelled us to get organized. A founding committee was created in 1977 for the purpose of setting up specialized services for sexual assault victims in Montreal. Once the necessary services had been set up in designated hospitals, the founding committee took the initiative of maintaining this cooperative model in order to ensure coordination among the various services.

In April 1980, the Table de concertation sur les services aux victimes d'agressions sexuelles, région de Montréal took over the reins from the founding committee. At that time, the committee was made up of representatives from the support centres for sexual assault victims in and around Montreal, the Montreal police department, the forensic laboratory, Crown Prosecutor's office, the four designated hospitals and the Conseil régional de la santé et des services sociaux Montréal métropolitain (now called the Agence de la Santé et de Services sociaux de Montréal).

Over the years, membership expanded to include such organizations as CLSCs, Centres d'aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel (CALACS), Centres d'aide aux victimes d'actes criminels – CAVAC (Crime victims assistance centres), Direction de l'indemnisation des victimes d'actes criminels – IVAC (Crime victims compensation), Direction de la protection de la jeunesse – DPJ (Youth protection services) and other representatives of the legal network (judge and Crown prosecutors). Membership gradually narrowed down, focusing solely on the territory of Central Montreal. Today, the Table has a total of 23 member organizations.

In spite of members' concern with respect to sexual violence experienced by children and adolescents, there was never enough time during meetings to fully address the problems specific to different ages. In response to this situation, certain members of the Table created an action group for physical and sexual abuse of children and adolescents, subsequently deciding to break away from the Table in 1995.

In 1988, the Table de concertation sur les agressions à caractère sexuel de Montréal set up a coordinating committee to supervise its activities, made up of representatives from the community, health and social services, public safety and justice sectors, and the chairperson of the Table. In January 1991, formal rules and operating procedures were adopted. The Table meets seven times a year on a Wednesday morning from 9:00 a.m. until noon. An agenda is drawn up based on priorities identified at the beginning of the year and current projects. Working committees are set up as needed: some, like the designated centres committee, are statutory, while others are ad hoc committees created for a specific project. In June, the coordinating committee drafts the annual report of activities.

In 2003, 26 years after the founding of the Table, a logo was designed and the official name of the organization became the Table de concertation sur les agressions à caractère sexuel de Montréal.

Apart from occasional grants related to specific projects, the Table has never received any funding for its daily operations. Member organizations share management tasks, which range from writing up minutes to supervising projects.

The Table provides a venue for ongoing discussions on various subjects based on members' expertise. Outside resource persons are also invited to contribute. Certain subjects are limited to a given meeting, while others are developed over the course of several meetings. A standing point on the regular agenda allows time for all members to speak in turn—going around the table to strengthen bonds, find out about others' activities within the network, share various forms of expertise and mobilize rapidly for joint action.

Over the years, one of the Table's priorities has been to offer training activities that reflect its members' interests. Different themes are chosen every year: sexual exploitation, cybercrime and child pornography, the review board for mental disorder, asylum seekers, the multi-sector agreement and sexual harassment in the workplace. Since 2010, the Table has organized an annual day of training for member organizations and their guests, focusing on such themes as parole, sexual violence and immigration, human trafficking and the mental health of sexual assault victims.

Starting in 2001, the Table decided to share its members' knowledge and wide-ranging expertise on sexual assault by publishing several documents on the subject. The first was a multilingual pamphlet in French, English, Arabic and Spanish on the various resources available to victims of sexual assault in Montreal. Then, in 2007, the Information Guide for Sexual Assault Victims was launched in French, English and Spanish. Distributed throughout Quebec, this invaluable guide is a comprehensive, accessible resource now in its second edition. Most recently, the creation of a new website in 2013 will undoubtedly further the Table's objective of promoting the services that are offered to victims of sexual assault in Montreal and keeping caregivers and practitioners informed.

Since its establishment in 1977, the Table de concertation has become involved in many important issues: medico-social intervention, forensic medical examination kits, a medico-social intervention guide and provincial training in medico-social intervention for designated centres. The Table publicly took a stand in the media following a presentation by Dr. Harold Lief on “False Memory Syndrome,” and helped create a sexual assault service at the SPVM (Montreal police department) in 1995.

About the Website

Portrait dynamique des ressources, à Montréal, pour les victimes d'agression sexuelle (www.agressionsexuellemontreal.ca)

RESEARCH, WRITING AND DEVELOPMENT:

• Myriam Ariey-Jouglard M.A., Project Manager

EDITORIAL AND WORKING COMMITTEE:

• Marie-Hélène Blanc, Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes (AQPV), a victim's rights group
• Dèby Trent, Montreal Sexual Assault Centre (MSAC)
• Yvonne Séguin, Groupe d'aide et d'information sur le harcèlement sexuel au travail (GAIHST), a help and information centre on sexual harassment in the workplace
• Diana Yaros et Michèle Roy, Movement against rape and incest (MCVI)

REVISION:

• Johanne Carbonneau, réviseure

TRANSLATION:

• Cynthia Gates, traductrice

VIDEOS AND TRANSLATION IN LSQ (Quebec Sign Language):

• Marie-Hélène Couture, Maison des femmes sourdes de Montréal (MFSM)
• Sylvain Gélina, Cinéall Production des Sourds

BANNER GRAPHIC CONCEPTION:

• Maryse Boutin, Turbine Graphique