Foundation sees rise in young sex abuse victims seeking help
Marie-vincent has 500 on wait list, aims to open second centre in Châteauguay
Thomas and Sophie, both 11, are chatting online. Sophie has lots of questions for Thomas: where he goes to school, whether his parents are home, whether he has a photo of himself with friends, of himself in a bathing suit. She sends him an image of herself in a bikini.
Only Sophie isn't an 11-year-old girl at all. The person chatting with Thomas is actually a bearded middle-aged man in a baseball cap: He looks a bit creepy. We know this because we are watching their exchange in a video titled: “Do you really know everyone you're connecting with online?”
The answer in this case is, clearly, no.
The two-minute video is a dramatization; the two characters are actors. But the effect is powerful and chilling. The video is one of several made by the Marie-vincent Foundation, a Montreal community organization that helps child and teen victims of sexual abuse and violence. Prevention is also part of its mandate.
The organization is one of several child and youth advocacy centres in Canada — but the only one to focus exclusively on sexual abuse and violence.
Marie-vincent has been providing services, in English and French, since 2005 and, although recognized internationally for its expertise, it is better known in the francophone community.
When the social media hashtag #Metoo went viral following media reports of sexual misconduct allegations against high-profile entertainers in 2017 and 2018, and Quebecers came forward as well, requests for services at Marie-vincent increased — and they have not subsided. Today there is a waiting list of 500 for treatment at the Papineau St. centre, where between 300 and 325 children and teens are treated each year.
“There is a specificity to working with children who have been sexually abused,” said Marie-vincent executive director Stéphanie Gareau. “A sexologist, criminologist and a spectrum of other experts are involved — and it all happens in one place, with the child at the centre.”
Referrals are generally through youth protection department or police, and partners include them as well as doctors from the Montreal Children's and Ste-justine hospitals. Because of the pandemic, some adolescents are receiving therapy remotely, but younger children are still coming in for treatment at the centre, where health protocols are observed.
Nearly 30 per cent of the waiting list is made up of residents of the Montérégie region, and Marie-vincent would like to open a second centre in Châteauguay by the end of next year. Discussions with private and public donors are underway, Gareau said.
Fifty per cent of the centre's budget of just over $4 million is from government sources and the other half is from private donors. The pandemic has forced the cancellation of fundraising events and this has had an impact on financing.
When a child is the victim of sexual abuse, “it is like a bomb detonating in a family,” Gareau said.
Therapists at Marie-vincent also work with parents.
Children are spending more time online during the pandemic and this has driven an increase in reports of online sexual exploitation, according to cybertip.ca, a national tip line for reporting online sexual exploitation of children.
The consequences of online sexual exploitation are as devastating to victims as when there is physical contact between an aggressor and a victim, Gareau said.
Parents need to ensure their children know they can come to them any time they encounter anything — or anyone — online that makes them feel uncomfortable, advises the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, which operates the tip line.
“A good portion of the work we do at Marie-vincent is aimed at awareness and prevention,” Gareau said.
Programs include those aimed at children, parents, educators and the public. In one project, for instance, high school students are being trained to discuss issues around online behaviour with their peers, although the pandemic has put the project on pause. Other projects include a mural and a web app.
Short videos — such as the one about Thomas and “Sophie” — are intended as discussion guides to help parents talk with their teens about their technology habits and preventing online sexual exploitation. It's important for parents to be present in their children's online life and to understand it, Gareau said.