The Government of Canada increases its support for child victims of abuse and violence in Quebec

From: Department of Justice Canada

News release

April 23, 2019 – Montréal, Quebec – Department of Justice Canada

Canadians expect to live in a society where the criminal justice system is fair and impartial and respects the needs of victims, including children and youth who are victims or witnesses of abuse or violence.

Today, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced $300,000 in funding to develop a work plan for the establishment of a new Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) by the Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent. This project targets child and youth victims of abuse or violence, as well as their families, in a region of Quebec that is underserved by this type of service. By bringing together under one roof stakeholders from the police, medical, psychosocial and social justice spheres, the Centre d’expertise Marie‑Vincent will offer accessible, concerted, integrated and continuing services to respond to the needs of child victims of abuse or violence.

Child victims of abuse or violence need safe, comfortable spaces where they can obtain services adapted and customized to their needs in order to lessen, in the short, medium and long term, the consequences of the violence they have experienced. Through the CAC Initiative, the Government of Canada is working to provide increased support to these victims and their families by providing funding to create multi-disciplinary, coordinated and child-centred services in one location.

The CAC Initiative provides funding to a number of victim-serving, non-governmental organizations whose programs and activities are aligned with the priorities of the Victims Fund and the Government of Canada.

Quotes

“In supporting this project, we are contributing to effective intervention with child and youth victims of abuse and violence to give them the support they need. I am proud that our government is providing this support to enable the Centre d’expertise Marie-Vincent  to develop a work plan to establish a new Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) in one of Quebec’s regions that is underserved by this type of service.”

The Honourable David Lametti, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

“The services offered at the Fondation Marie-Vincent contribute to significantly changing the developmental trajectory of children and adolescents who are victims of sexual violence and those with problematic sexual behaviours. We are very pleased that the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, supports our efforts to deploy our services in another region of Quebec.”

Jean-Pierre Aubin
Director General of the Marie-Vincent Fondation

Quick facts

  • Children who have visited a Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) are generally satisfied with the experience and are more likely to indicate that they were not frightened during the medical/legal interview, compared to children living in communities that do not have a CAC.
    Source: JustFacts, Children's Advocacy Centres, Melissa Lindsay, Research and Statistics Division, Department of Justice, 2013-12-05

  • Parents whose children have received services from a CAC are more satisfied with the investigative process and interview procedures than parents whose children received services from an organization other than a CAC.
    Source: JustFacts, Children's Advocacy Centres, Melissa Lindsay, Research and Statistics Division, Department of Justice, 2013-12-05

  • According to self-reported data from the 2014 General Social Survey on victimization, nearly a third (32%) of Canadians aged 15 years and older – nearly 9 million people – reported childhood physical or sexual abuse.

  • The province of Quebec currently has two CACs: the CAC of the Marie-Vincent Foundation, established in 2011, and the new CAC of the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale, the result of an initiative begun in 2017. This proposed potential new CAC will be the third such centre in Quebec.  

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Contacts

For additional information, media representatives should contact:

Media Relations
Department of Justice Canada
613-957-4207
media@justice.gc.ca

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