Giving Tuesday 2022

Tuesday, November 29th is Giving Tuesday, a global movement for giving and volunteering which takes place each year after Black Friday.

This year CASASC is encouraging support of the A Season of Giving donation campaign.

Your donations help CASASC offer free services and support to thousands of Central Albertans affected by sexual violence each year. Learn more about A Season of Giving campaign here

Monetary donations are accepted at the main office (cash, credit or cheque). Online donations to this campaign are accepted via our CanadaHelps page

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/central-alberta-sexual-assault-centre/campaign/a-season-of-giving/

What I Was Wearing When It Happened

A powerful window exhibit has been set up in downtown Red Deer to address victim blaming. In recognition of Family Violence Prevention Month, the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASASC) has set up What I Was Wearing When It Happened, a reflection exhibit along Ross Street.

The purpose of the exhibit is to bring awareness to the issue of victim blaming and the stigma surrounding individual’s clothing as the reason they were sexually assaulted.

The window exhibit features powerful statements paired with various types of clothing victims were wearing at the time they were assaulted. This is meant to be a real-life representation, a visual way to bring awareness around the still existing stigma.

This is the third year for the reflection exhibit. CASASC has hosted the exhibit previously on International Women’s Day. In 2018, the exhibit was hosted at Parkland Mall featuring over 300 pairs of shoes, each representing an Alberta woman who was missing or murdered. The shoe exhibit encouraged people to reflect on the lives of those women.

In 2019, CASASC partnered with the Students’ Association of Red Deer Polytechnic (S.A.) and two third-year BScN students of RDP for a similar exhibit featuring live mannequins. The exhibit was thought-provoking and interactive.

This year the exhibit is on display as a partnership between CASASC, the John Howard Society of Red Deer and the Central Alberta Community Legal Clinic.

What I Was Wearing When It Happened will be on display in the front windows facing Ross Street at 4916 50 Street until November 30. Viewers can easily peruse the window display from the sidewalk.

A Season of Giving

We are excited to launch of A Season of Giving campaign, a first for CASASC.
You can play an important role in supporting a survivor’s journey of renewal, empowerment and healing this season.
Find more info and to donate here on our campaign page on CanadaHelps: https://www.canadahelps.org/…/campaign/a-season-of-giving/

Consent – A short, yet impactful word

By Kailee Burkinshaw

Consent – A short, yet impactful word

What is one of the first things you think of when you hear the word “consent?”

Is it the term “no means no?” What about consent or permission forms from when you were in school? Or when it involves social movements such as the #MeToo hashtag? Consent can be all of these things and more.

Consent is a term that has always been around, but it may not have been as widely talked about as it appears to be now in our news, media, classrooms or virtual worlds. This is why it is important to understand consent and what it involves. Knowing more about consent creates a more informed, respectful and safe world, for reasons this blog post will discuss.

When someone is talking about consent, it begins as an agreement between two people or groups that they want to do something together. Everyone can say “yes” in the agreement, especially after they know what they are agreeing to do. Someone can say “no” in the agreement too.

Framing consent this way can put into perspective how we have all been practicing consent our entire lives.

Have you ever asked a friend to hang out with you? Asked a colleague if you can eat lunch with them? Asked someone out on a coffee date? Indicated to someone you liked that you wanted to hold their hand or kiss them?

If you have said “yes” to any of these questions, then you have been practicing consent.

Continuing to seek someone’s consent and have other people respect your choices when it comes to consent, is the cornerstone of creating healthy, respectful relationships in our lives.

The CASASC education team has regular conversations in our Central Alberta community about consent and healthy relationships. To learn more about these conversations and opportunities, you can reach out to the team at education@casasc.ca.

What is involved with consent?

Consent can start with a simple “yes” or “no” question. Consent can involve letting someone know all of their options when it comes to settings in the medical field, higher education or the workplace.

We have consent in our friendships, within our families and with our dating partners. From high fives, to hugs, and all the way up to and including all forms of sexual activity, we need to practice and be receptive to consent.

But how do we get consent? How do we know we are receiving the right signals for consent? And do we have to be crystal clear every time we ask for consent?

When asking for consent, there needs to be the following considerations:

  1. How well do you know this person? Is it your first time meeting them, or have you known them a long time? What sort of relationship do you have with them? Do you know what sort of activities they are comfortable with?
  2. How does the other person express a “yes” or “no” with their words or actions? Can you yourself recognize them?
  3. Does the person you are asking know all of what they are agreeing to?
  4. Is the person you are asking consent from in an alert, sober, conscious and sane state of mind to understand what you are asking of them?

When we reflect on our relationships with other people, and the sort of agreements we have with them because of our relationship to them, we can better understand how asking for and receiving consent will work with them.

Consent- Easy as FRIES and OYMY

Consent needs to be enthusiastic, specific and informed. It also needs to be reversible—someone can say “yes” but can say “no” later if they change their mind—and freely given. We do not force someone to say “yes.” Rearranging these words can give us the term FRIES, an easy way to remember the parts of consent.

Another way to remember consent is with the term “Only Yes Means Yes.” CASASC has adapted this term into a series of posters under the “Only Yes Means Yes (OYMY)” campaign. More information on the campaign can be found here: https://casasc.ca/only-yes-means-yes-when-it-comes-to-consent/. If you are interested in posters for your business or organization, you can reach out to CASASC’s EDU Team at education@casasc.ca.

Consent is an everyday practise and can be a way to honor and show respect and safety in our relationships and community.

Kailee Burkinshaw is a prevention educator with the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre.

Monthly update – CASASC Connections – November

Welcome back to CASASC Connections. This is a space where we provide updates on our services, programs and all things CASASC for the month of November.

 

Need for online + virtual volunteers – email ewillmer@casasc.ca

We are in need of volunteers to join the 24/7 help line, with shifts available through the phone and text/webchat.

We are looking for minimum of five volunteers who can take one or two shifts a month with our helpline. Evening and weekend support is a bonus.

Using an eight-hour shift-based schedule the help line volunteers provide a listening ear, supportive conversation and resource referrals to children, youth and adults who are in need of support. Previous education and training are not needed. Seeking respectful, caring and supportive individuals.

 

Community Connections

If you are aware of any community events or booths (across Central Alberta) that we could attend throughout the year, please share with us at education@casasc.ca

Our presence at events is informative and awareness-based, educational, interactive and applicable for all audiences and ages. We do not talk about sexual health or sex education and can adapt our messaging to need topics or programs and services.

 

November is Family Violence Prevention Month

In Alberta, November is Family Violence Prevention Month (FVPM). The goal of FVPM is to raise public awareness around family violence and to educate communities on how to prevent it. Use the colour purple to show your support all month long.

Visit our webpage to stay updated on all we have going on all month

Shine Bright – Purple is the colour of choice for Family Violence Prevention Month. Show your support by sporting purple lights and decorations throughout the month. Turn on those purple Christmas lights early, buy a purple light bulb for your porch light or get your workplace to shine purple.

November 25  – Purple Day of Action

Mark your calendar for November 25 and plan to wear purple. Join us as we wear purple and celebrate a Family Violence Prevention Day of Action with our communities.

Re-share Awareness

One of the most impactful and effective ways to show your support this November is to re-share and like messages on social media. Help organizations like CASASC to spread awareness far and wide about preventing family violence.

Start a conversation

There are so many ways to get involved:

-Start conversations with family and friends, let them know you are there to support them, show them you care

-Dispel myths about family violence

-Donate to a family violence prevention organization

Join in the action

Participate in one or more of our suggested social action activities. Complete them on or by November 25 and celebrate your successes with us.

-Kids/Teens – Make a card with a kind message for someone who you are grateful for (bus driver, librarian, teacher, counsellor, family member). Tell them how much you care about them or thank them for something nice they have done.

-Kids/Teens – Do something nice for a family member, sibling, cousin etc.

-Family – Do an activity together, something you’ve never done before or a game you all enjoy

-Family – Do an activity for each letter of the word P-U-R-P-L-E (ex. For the first P – go to the Play ground, U …, R – eat some red candy etc.)

-Adult – Do something fun/spontaneous with a friend – go for coffee, show them you care and are there to support them. Reach out to a friend you haven’t talked to in a while.

-Create a safety plan, just like how we should have a safety plan in place for a natural disaster (even though we may never need it), we should have a safety plan in place for if we ever are in a place of harm/discomfort.

 

November editions of our online learning series

What happens on a 24/7 Sexual Violence Helpline (45 min)

Monday, Nov 28 @ 6-6:45 pm MST

Visit the link for session dates and times and to register:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/390733202527

 

Ask the Expert – Parenting and Sexualized Behaviour Support

Wed, Nov 30 @ 4-5 pm MST

Visit the link for session dates and times and to register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/306744500057

 

Services + Programs at CASASC (30 min)

Thurs, Nov 10, 9:30-10:00 am MST

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/305069279427

 

Introduction to Sexual Violence (60 min)

Tues, Nov 8, 10-11 am MST

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/305057193277

 

Supporting Disclosures (45 min)

Mon, Nov 21, 11-11:45 am MST

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/305060773987

 

Consent 101 (60 min)

Fri, Nov 18, 3-4 pm MST

Tues, Nov 29, 9-10 am MST

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/305082248217

 

First Responder to Sexual Assault and Abuse Training

January 24 and 25, 2023

9:00 am – 5:00 pm MT

Calgary, Alberta

Join us for FRT training – Facilitated by a member of our CASASC team.

Early bird cost available to those who register by November 15.

Registration Required

$250 before Nov 15, 2022

$299 after Nov 15, 2022

Register here

This comprehensive training is intended to build the capacity of professionals, paraprofessionals, and community members to respond effectively to disclosure of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment from children and adults. Training covers the full continuum of topics related to sexual violence across the lifespan.

 

Celebrating one year of the Only Yes Mean Yes Consent Campaign

November 4 marks one year of Only Yes Means Yes consent campaign out in the community.

Need a poster refresh or would you like some business card sized information for public? Let us know and we’re happy to share with you.

OYMY changes how we look at and understand consent. It focuses on positive consent in which only affirmative consent matters.

Read more about the poster campaign and how to get involved here