Online chat tool for victims of sexual violence now operational 24-7

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A new “chat” tool to access the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre’s help line for victims of sexual violence and their loved ones is now operational seven days a week and around the clock.

The centre began offering the online chat option last November, complementing its telephone helpline, which has been in operation since 2010.

The provincial commission on the sexual exploitation of minors recommended in 2020 that victims be offered anonymous counselling via the “live chat” format. In public consultations, the commission had heard many young people prefer typing a conversation with a counsellor on a chat line rather than speaking aloud with a counsellor on a telephone helpline, even if both services offer anonymity.

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The provincial government provided almost $700,000 in funding to help the centre research best practices, integrate the chatting option onto its website, provide training and hire more staff to provide the service. Since its launch, the chat tool has been staffed from noon to midnight daily, but as of this week, it is operating 24 hours.

“We are pleased,” said Déby Trent, executive director of the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre. “I think it is responding to a very clear need. The whole vision at the outset was that it be something that be geared to youth.”

The centre has also reached out to young people with promotional material for the chat service on social media, including Tiktok, Facebook and X.

The idea, she said, “is to try and connect with people who are younger and who use this form of technology much more readily than they pick up a telephone and call someone.”

“Since the launch we have done 1,400 interventions on the online chat service, and what we are able to notice, with the statistics we can gather … is that we seem to be responding primarily to the youth population, so 14 to 17, and also people who have more recently been victimized, so someone who was assaulted within the last five days or within the last year … as opposed to on the listening line where you might get people who were assaulted a longer time ago.”

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She said the centre is pleased with the response so far, but hopes more victims and their loved ones will access the service, whether by phone or chat, now that both services are operating 24 hours a day and seven days a week. She said since the launch in November, the chat tool was used throughout the day, but was particularly active in the evenings and around midnight.

“We anticipate the early morning hours will become particularly active as we transition to a 24/7 service, coinciding with the summer festivals and outings,” she said. “This extension is both timely and essential.”

She said one reason the chat format is useful is victims can chat live with a counsellor without anyone else in their vicinity hearing the conversation. This is important when someone is seeking help because they are involved in a sexually violent relationship with someone in their home.

“It’s even more confidential. It’s even more anonymous and I think for people who are young, that responds to their needs and their comfort level.”

She said the centre’s counsellors are finding on the chat line, people tend to be willing to describe their situation and get to their specific questions more quickly and directly. “On a telephone call, people may hem and haw, whereas it’s more direct on the chat. It’s very interesting. …There seems to be a different level of privacy or anonymity that people get from the chat.”

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The counsellors answering the helpline or chatting online have university degrees, often in social work, sexology or psychology, but are not professional therapists. They must be bilingual, and they have gone through extensive training with the Sexual Assault Centre on how to put callers in touch with resources in their region, such as emergency medical care, legal help, counselling, community groups, shelters, and other resources. The centre employs 18 counsellors for the helpline and chat option, and another 10 people fill in on an on-call basis during busier periods.

Trent added the help line is not only for victims of sexual violence, but also for those who know a victim and want to help, such as parents, teachers, siblings or friends.

For more information, go to the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre website.

mlalonde@postmedia.com

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