CALACS La Vigie is a women’s group and a non-profit community organization that fights against sexual violence and provides support to individuals identifying as women or non-binary, from the start of high school. Our services are free and confidential.
Our Mission
The Centre d’Aide et de Lutte contre les Agressions à Caractère Sexuel (CALACS) La Vigie is an autonomous, non-profit community organization founded by and for women. CALACS La Vigie’s mission is to offer support and services to adult and adolescent victims of sexual violence who identify themselves as women or non-binary, from the time they start high school, as well as to their loved ones. The organization also works to reduce sexual violence by raising public awareness and advocating for progress in addressing sexual violence.
CALACS La Vigie adopts a comprehensive strategy comprising three main components:
- Support and accompaniment for victims, survivors, and their loved ones
- Prevention, awareness, and training
- Coordination, collective mobilization, and advocacy for rights
Our Values
Advocacy for Rights
Inform women of their rights and actively support them in exercising these rights, both individually and collectively. Publicly and politically denounce the socio-judicial treatment of sexually assaulted women and demand changes.
Social Change
The social and patriarchal structure of our society and its institutions must change. As such, they keep women in a second-class role and position, normalize and enable violence against women, and keep them in a state of vulnerability.
Accessibility
Ensure the center is accessible geographically, culturally, and based on individuals’ life experiences.
Equity
Promote fairness among women themselves Secondly, by ensuring equity between the activities and services offered in the various “sectors” of our territory and between the three (3) work components: assistance, prevention-awareness and advocacy.
Equality
It is the foundation of our struggles, aiming for women to be accepted as full citizens and seen as equal members capable of economic, cultural, legal, political, and social emancipation.
Democracy
It is a fundamental value of CALACS, which was established “by and for women.” It is central to the organization’s functioning, relying on power-sharing among the entities, workers, and, more broadly, those who frequent it.
Integrity
It means consistency and adherence to our values, both in theory and practice. These values are reflected in intervention, prevention-awareness, representation, and the organization’s functioning and management.
Solidarity
It signifies mutual aid and complicity among all women who frequent the organization, regardless of their status. It also translates into collaborations and actions with and for women’s and community groups (e.g., women’s condition, recognition, autonomy, etc.).
Transparency and Honesty
It is important for board members, workers, and interns to be transparent and honest both in the information they hold and share and in all their actions.
Respect
It is based on the importance of considering the values and philosophy of CALACS in all its practices, with the concern not to undermine them. Respect must also be at the heart of the relationships among all women working within CALACS.
Our Approach: Intersectional Feminist Intervention
The primary goal is to stimulate the psychological, economic, and cultural autonomy of women. It includes the following objectives:
- Raise awareness among women that their issues stem from economic, political, and social conditions.
- Enable women to break free from gender roles and stereotypes.
- Help women stop feeling solely responsible for “female role” issues (e.g., children, partner). Develop a collective identity through support and mutual aid.
- Build self-esteem so women can define their own image, not based on traditional roles.
- Teach women to express their needs and desires assertively.
- Encourage autonomous decision-making and self-reliance.
- Promote awareness of their bodies, sexuality, and pleasure, defined by themselves.
- Foster new values, using their strengths and knowledge to gain a fresh perspective.
- Propose a collective approach to alleviate individual suffering and change oppressive conditions.
- Recognize that not all women are equal, and some groups have been silenced or marginalized in social movements.
History
In the early 1980s, the Centre d’aide et de prévention des assauts sexuels (CAPAS) of Châteauguay frequently assisted women victims of sexual violence in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and offered prevention workshops. The increased demand posed challenges, particularly regarding travel and service areas.
In October 1983, a group from the CLSC, Accueil, and CAPAS sought solutions, revealing a lack of direct support and prevention services for sexual violence victims. As a result, La Vigie was formed and incorporated in September 1984, starting activities in April 1985 with initial funding from the CLSC. Officially opening in September 1985 with support from the Ministry of Health and Social Services, La Vigie has since deeply rooted itself in the community, expanding services to meet local needs in addressing sexual violence.
Service Area
The territory served by CALACS La Vigie includes the MRC of Beauharnois-Salaberry (excluding Beauharnois, Maple-Grove, Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois, Sainte-Martine, and Saint-Urbain-Premier), the MRC of Haut Saint-Laurent, and the MRC of Vaudreuil-Soulanges. CALACS La Vigie serves approximately 40 municipalities, covering around 240,000 residents and 11 secondary schools.
