Ask an Expert Clinical Series – Parenting Conversation 2022

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Ask an Expert – Parenting + Sexualized Behaviour Conversations With Our Clinical Expert

Join us for an informal 60 minute virtual session with our Child Therapist. Learn information related to parenting and supporting children and youth who display concerning sexualized behaviours.

Or maybe you want to join us to discuss a situation or behaviour your child is engaging in and get some advice on what is developmentally appropriate, how to support and respond.

Our expert will give a short overview of the Sexualized Behaviour Support Program (SBSP) and share about frequent concerns and conversations. This will leave plenty of time for participants to join in a discussion and to both privately and publicly ask questions.

Use this opportunity to connect with our therapist for those unique and one-off questions that you may have but don’t want to go through our client wait list process to speak with a counsellor.

Dates:

Friday, October 28 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. MST

Wednesday, November 30 – 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. MST

Wednesday, December 21 – 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. MST

 

Register via Eventbrite here for all sessions

Education Learning Series 2022

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Services + Programs at CASASC (30 min)

Join us for a short 30min session overviewing the programs and services available at CASASC.

– Counselling 

– Police, Community + Court Support 

– Kinship Intervention Program (KIP) 

– 24/7 Sexual Violence Help Line 

– Prevention Education, school presentations for K-12 

Free, Register here

Upcoming dates:

Monday, Dec 5 – 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. MST

 

Introduction to Sexual Violence (60 min)

Do you want to enhance your knowledge around sexual violence education? Join us as we present an Introduction to Sexual Violence. This presentation is a public awareness and education presentation that introduces, and highlights, definitions and concepts related to sexual violence. We will discuss dispelling myths and stereotypes, talk about victim blaming, the realities of sexual violence, and a brief understanding of supporting disclosures. 

Free, Register here

Upcoming dates:

Tuesday, Dec 6 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. MST

 

Consent 101 (60 min)

Join us as we overview basics about Consent and Consent to Sexual Activity, key focus on Consent conversations as it relates to our youth and young people. This program can help you talk about consent with youth and can also help us understand the role of consent in healthy relationships. Definitions, laws + ages of consent, sexting and healthy intimate partner relationships will be some of the information covered. 

Free, Register here

Upcoming dates:

Tuesday, Nov 29 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. MST

Tuesday, Dec 20 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. MST

Tuesday, Dec 20 – 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. MST

 

Supporting Disclosures – (45 min)

This session will help to enhance our skills and knowledge around supporting disclosures of sexual violence. An overview of the fundamentals of responding to and supporting disclosure of sexual assault and abuse from children, youth and adults. Learn some key messages and legal obligations when it comes to reporting child abuse.

Free, Register here

Upcoming dates: 

Monday, Nov 21 – 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. MST

Monday, Dec 12 – 12 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. MST

The power of words in teen dating relationships

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By Kailee Mears

With Valentine’s Day and Family Day behind us, we can reflect on how these holidays bring people closer together. Family Day is a day off for many to spend time with family. Valentine’s Day has grown into a day to celebrate love in many forms, including couples or friends.

What you may not have known is that the month of February was also Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM). TDVAM is meant to raise awareness of the different types of violence teenagers can experience within a dating relationship.

Statistics show that young people between the ages of 15 to 24 have the highest risk of experiencing dating violence.

Dating violence can involve physical abuse like hitting, slapping, pushing or kicking. It can also involve a type of violence called emotional violence.

Emotional violence is the use of words to hurt, intimidate, embarrass or harass a person. It is the most common type of dating violence and often comes before other types of violence. One study suggested that up to 62 per cent of 12 to 18 year old’s have experienced emotional violence while in a dating relationship.

While it may be easy to see the results of physical violence through injuries, it can be difficult to see how words can affect a person emotionally.

As youth grow up, one can expect to hear some version of “don’t let words get the better of you.” While it is important for youth to learn to become resilient, it is important for both youth and adults to recognize when a person’s words are truly harmful, especially when it comes to dating relationships.

One of the first steps you can take is to pay attention when someone is speaking and how their tone makes the youth and those around them, including yourself, feel.

Hearing something like “Why don’t you just shut up?” can make a person feel very small, scared and uncomfortable. Hearing “Oh come on. Everyone is doing it. Just try it once,” could have the effect like they are being pressured into doing something they don’t want to do.

Or even “Why didn’t you text me back? I texted you a lot. What were you doing? Who were you with?” can feel like being controlled by the person saying it – that we cannot do anything without replying to a text message right away or face some sort of punishment. Being independent in a relationship is important. We need to have time to ourselves and with others to maintain our relationships.

If you overhear something that makes you feel off or uncomfortable from the dating partner of a friend, co-worker or youth in your family, it is important to check in with that person. By asking that friend/co-worker/youth how they felt during that conversation and pointing out how you felt may make the youth more aware of how they may have been treated with disrespect. It could give the person a chance to reach out for help if they are uncomfortable with how their partner is speaking to them.

Words can be powerful. It is important for youth and adults to know that they deserve to be spoken to with respect, love and dignity, especially when it comes from a dating partner. If something does not sound right or makes someone feel scared, it is important to say something and seek help.

Kailee Mears is a prevention educator at the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre.

Article as published in the Red Deer Advocate on March 1, 2022

 

Pink Shirt Day School Activity Guide

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Pink Shirt Day is coming up on February 23rd. This is a day to celebrate the bullying prevention initiatives schools, communities and students do all year.

CASASC would like to offer our support to schools and community by providing a free document of Pink Shirt Day activities, inspiration and colouring pages.

Click the link below to access the Pink Shirt Day School Activity Guide and colouring pages which will allow you to engage students in all grades with bullying prevention-themed activities and opportunities throughout the month of February. Have your efforts this month come together on Pink Shirt Day or another day of your choosing.

Primary prevention is a passion here at CASASC which includes bullying behaviour prevention education. Please take this Pink Shirt Day document as our way of supporting all our Central Alberta communities, schools and students in their efforts to continue building healthy relationships, students and schools. We are here for you, we support you, we care.

 

Pink Shirt Day School Activity Guide

 

Colouring Pages

 

Make sure to share your pink initiatives with us on Twitter or Instagram. We’d love to celebrate with you.

Twitter: @CASASC2

Instagram: @CASASC3

Only Yes Means Yes when it comes to consent

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The Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre (CASASC) is excited to officially launch the Only Yes Means Yes (OYMY) campaign.

The education, community relations and communications teams have collaborated to create this ongoing poster and awareness campaign around positive consent conversations.

The OYMY campaign challenges our consent conversations by reinforcing that our bodies are always conveying a lack of consent (always saying “no”) and that consent can only happen when a person actively and consciously says “yes” and gives or shows their consent.

Through three simple, relatable posters, CASASC is showing central Albertans what consent can sound and look like, prompting adults to ask the question “Did I get a yes?” and showing what that “yes” can be.

Consent is an important concept in sexual violence prevention. Speaking positively about consent can change our community for the better. OYMY focuses on what positive consent can sound and look like as a way to promote healthy relationships and increase a greater sense of consent culture.

These posters are geared for adult audiences who visit public spaces like bars, restaurants, medical clinics, services agencies and many more. We are asking workplaces to place posters in their staff rooms and places where clients/customers may gather like bathrooms, tables, bulletin boards and gathering spaces in our communities.

We have also developed a FAQ for the campaign that can be used to promote the campaign in the communities we serve.

Over the summer months, OYMY was soft launched into the central Alberta community. Our education team visited over 19 central Alberta communities to have in-person conversations with organizations and business to bring awareness of our services and to share the campaign and posters.

iRespect Learning Series – Consent 101

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Join us as we learn the basics about consent and consent to sexual activity. Find sessions targeted for youth (in Grades 7-12), adults/parents and the general public. Our targeted session we will explore the basics to consent and consent to sexual activity as it relates to youth. Definitions, laws & ages of consent, sexting and healthy intimate partner relationships.

The CASASC education team will be hosting five virtual presentations via Zoom throughout the months of August and September. Each session is 60 minutes long and is offered free-of-charge.

August Dates:

For adults/parents: To register to the August 10 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

For teens (Grades 7-12): To register to the August 10 – 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

General public: To register to the August 10 – 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

September Dates:

General public: To register to the September 14 – 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

For adults/parents: To register to the September 14 – 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

iRespect Learning Series – Intro to Sexual Violence

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Want to enhance your sexual violence education?

The CASASC education team will be hosting three virtual presentations via Zoom in August and September. Each session is 90 minutes long and is offered free-of-charge.

The Intro to Sexual Violence presentation is a public awareness and education presentation that introduces and highlights definitions and concepts related to sexual violence. It provides an overview as well as disclosure support.

During the presentations we will discuss:

  • Sexual violence terms and definitions
  • Myths and facts about sexual violence
  • Dispelling victim blaming
  • Supporting disclosures

August Dates:

To register to the August 16 – 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

To register to the August 17 – 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

September Date:

To register to the September 20 – 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

iRespect Learning Series – Services + Programs at CASASC

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Curious about what services CASASC offers?

The CASASC education team will be hosting six virtual presentations via Zoom throughout the months of August and September. Each session is 30 minutes long and is offered free-of-charge.

The Services + Programs at CASASC presentation is a public awareness and education presentation that provides an overview of our agency. Receive a birds-eye view of all of the services and programs available at CASASC including education, prevention, intervention, clinical and the 24 hours help line. Learn about who we serve and what our service area is.

August Dates:

To register to the August 9 – 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

To register to the August 9 – 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

To register to the August 9 – 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

September Dates:

To register to the September 10 – 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

To register to the September 10 – 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

To register to the September 10 – 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. session, visit the Eventbrite page here

CASASC launches Only Yes Means Yes campaign

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CASASC is excited to soft launch the Only Yes Means Yes Campaign on July 19. Over the past few months the education, community relations and communications teams have collaborated to create an on-going poster and awareness campaign around positive consent conversations.

The Only Yes Means Yes campaign challenges our consent conversations by reinforcing that our bodies are always conveying a lack of consent (always saying ‘no’) and that consent can only happen when a person actively and consciously says “yes” and gives/shows their consent.

Through three simple, relatable posters, CASASC is showing central Albertans what consent can sound and look like. Prompting adults to ask the question “Did I get a yes?” and showing what that “yes” can be. These posters are geared for adult audiences who visit public spaces like bars, restaurants, clinics, services agencies and many more. We will be asking workplaces to place posters in their staff rooms, and places where clients/customers gather like bathrooms, tables, bulleting boards and gathering spaces in our communities.

We have also developed a FAQ for the campaign that can be used to promote the campaign in the communities we serve.

Additionally, over the summer months, the education team will be visiting many of our central Alberta communities to have in-person conversations with organization and business to bring awareness of all our services and to share the campaign and posters.

Please reach out the education team (education@casasc.ca) if you have any questions about the concept behind Only Yes Means Yes or the target audience and use of the campaign.

Stay tuned for the official launch of Only Yes Means Yes in the fall.

Why we wear orange

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CASASC reaffirms the statement that every child matters.
We honour the 215 children who were found at the Kamloops Residential School, their families and our community who is grieving at this time. We chose to wear our orange Made to Respect t-shirts today (May 31) as a visual symbol of our awareness of the need for ongoing reconciliation and accountability. We encourage you to seek further information about the experiences of Indigenous people, especially in regards to residential schooling.
We are here to support our community during this time. If you need support, we have our 24/7 Sexual Violence Help Line by phone at 1 866 956 1099 or by webchat at www.casasc.ca
You can also reach the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line by phone 1-866-925-4419