Ontario Expands Support for Survivors of Sexual Violence Through the Language Interpreter Services

The Government of Ontario has taken a step to follow through on its commitments from the March 2011 Sexual Violence Action Plan to provide additional support to survivors of sexual violence by expanding the Language Interpreter Services (LIS) program.

On May 24, 2012, the Government announced that it will be “breaking down language barriers” by increasing access to services for survivors of sexual violence who do not speak English and/or French. It is estimated that this service expansion will help “1,000 more women a year who are victims of sexual violence get access to social, health care and legal services in their own languages”. According to the announcement, this “includes sign language interpretation for victims who are Deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing and are also victims of domestic or sexual violence”.

The Language Interpreter Services (LIS) program provides interpreters and translators 24 hours a day for multi-lingual requests. For the past 20 years, the program has enabled service providers in Ontario to communicate with their clients who have limited English and/or French language skills, are Deaf, oral deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, and who are victims of domestic violence, sexual violence or human trafficking.

In Ontario, all service providers working with victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, or human trafficking are eligible to access language interpreters on behalf of their clients. The list of eligible agencies and service providers includes social services, healthcare, legal services, sexual assault centers, and the Domestic Violence Court Program. These agencies and service providers can access interpreter services that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year in over 70 languages in person, by telephone or through videoconferencing.

Across the province, service providers can request these services by contacting one of eight agencies that currently deliver the Language Interpreter Services program. Agencies provide language interpreter services in the following regions of Ontario:

CENTRAL ONTARIO

Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic
Telephone: 416-323-9149
Fax: 416-323-9107
TTY: -416-323-1361
Web: www.schliferclinic.com
Location: 489 College Street, Suite 503, Toronto, ON, M6G 1A5

Multilingual Community Interpreter Services
Telephone: 416-426-7051
Toll Free: 1-888-236-8311
24-Hour Domestic Violence Emergency Line: 416-422-5984
Note: MCIS operates a 24-hour emergency interpretation service for the Domestic Violence Court Program and the Toronto Police Service to assist victims of Domestic Violence
Fax: 416-426-7118
Translation Department: 416-426-7051
Email General Inquiries: info@mcis.on.ca
Email Translation Department: translation@mcis.on.ca
Email Intake Requests: intake@mcis.on.ca
Web: http://www.mcis.on.ca/
Location: 789 Don Mills Rd, Suite 608, North York, ON M3C 1T5

WESTERN ONTARIO

Across Languages Translation and Interpretation Service
Phone: 519-642-7247
Fax: 519-642-1831
Email: info@acrosslanguages.org
Web: http://www.acrosslanguages.org/
Location: 515 Richmond Street, Unit 3, London ON, N6A 5N4

Information Niagara
Telephone Niagara Region: 2-1-1
Telephone Main: 905-682-6611
Toll Free: 1-800-263-3695
Fax: 905-682-4314
Web: http://www.informationniagara.com/
Location: 235 Martindale Road, Unit 10, St. Catharines, ON L2W 1A5

The Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre
Telephone: 519-745-2531
Interpreter Services: 519-745-2593
Fax: 519-745-5857
Web: http://www.kwmc.on.ca/
Location: 102 King Street West, Kitchener, ON N2G 1A6

The Multicultural Council of Windsor and Essex County
Telephone: 519-255-1127
Fax: 519-255-1435
Web: http://www.themcc.com/
Downtown Location: 245 Janette Avenue, Windsor, ON N9A 4Z2
East End Location: 7651 Tecumseh Road East, Windsor, ON N8T 3H1

EASTERN ONTARIO

Immigrant Women Services Ottawa
Telephone: 613-729-3145
Fax: 613-729-9308
Email: infomail@immigrantwomenservices.com
Web: www.immigrantwomenservices.com
Location: 219 Argyle Street, Suite 400, Ottawa, ON K2P 2H4

NORTHERN ONTARIO

Thunder Bay Multicultural Association
Telephone: 807-345-0551
Toll Free: 1-866-831-1144
Fax: 807-345-0173
Email: info@tbma.ca
Web: http://www.thunderbay.org/
Location: 17 North Court Street, Thunder Bay, ON, P7A 4T4

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The Language Interpreter Services (LIS) program is funded by the Ontario Women’s Directorate, and administered by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.

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Always remember that you may have been victimized by sexual violence, but by searching for help you have started your healing.

Survivors Guide

Recovery Bill of Rights for Trauma Survivors

Trauma is defined as “any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident” and “an emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects”. Sexual abuse and sexual assault are trauma.

When most people think of trauma, they do not include sexual abuse or sexual assault. The things that come to mind are physical injuries caused – in most cases – by accidents or serious illness. The loss of a loved one is considered a traumatic incident, whether that occurs through death or the sudden end of a relationship. For some, the loss of a beloved pet may be traumatic. In these situations, the affected party is usually given space and time to heal in their own way. They are treated with compassion and care, and they are respected for having survived a tragedy.

Unfortunately, these thoughts and sentiments are not always extended to survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault. Many survivors never receive the space or time necessary to heal. In some cases, survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault may be treated as if a disease that requires aggressive treatment or a cure has inflicted them, while some may not receive any care at all. As a result, quite frequently, survivors are re-traumatized.

According to the Trauma-Informed Toolkit developed by Klinic Community Health Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba

“People who have been affected by trauma are at risk of being re-traumatized in every social service and health care setting. This is often due to a lack of knowledge about the effects of traumatic events and a limited understanding of how to work effectively with survivors. Trauma effected people frequently feel misunderstood and unsupported which can impede healing and growth. This can be prevented with basic knowledge and by considering trauma-informed language and practices.”

 As survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault, in social service and health care settings, we can demand the care, time, and space that we need for healing. The Recovery Bill of Rights for Trauma Survivors written by Thomas V. Maguire, PhD in 1995 provides a guide to the rights entitled to every survivor in four areas

• personal authority
• personal boundaries
• personal communication
• the domain of psychotherapy

As you move forward in your healing, you may use this guide to assert your rights. ___________________________________________________________________

A RECOVERY BILL OF RIGHTS FOR TRAUMA SURVIVORS

 As a Matter of Personal AUTHORITY, You Have the Right . . .

• to manage your life according to your own values and judgment.
• to direct your recovery, answerable to no one for your goals, effort, or progress.
• to gather information to make intelligent decisions about your recovery.
• to seek help from a variety of sources, unhindered by demands for exclusivity.
• to decline help from anyone without having to justify the decision.
• to have faith in your powers of self restoration — and to seek allies who share it.
• to trust allies in healing as much as any adult can trust another, but no more.
• to be afraid and to avoid what frightens you.
• to decide for yourself whether, when, and where to confront your fear.
• to learn by experimenting, that is, to make mistakes.

For the Preservation of Personal BOUNDARIES, You Have the Right . . .

• to be touched only with your permission, and only in ways that are comfortable.
• to choose to speak or remain silent, about any topic or at any moment.
• to choose to accept or decline feedback, suggestions, or interpretations.
• to ask for help in healing, without having to accept help with work, play, or love.
• to challenge any crossing of your boundaries.
• to take appropriate action to end any trespass that does not cease when challenged.

In the Sphere of Personal COMMUNICATION, You Have the Right . . .

• to ask for explanation of communications you do not understand.
• to express a contrary view when you do understand and you disagree.
• to acknowledge your feelings, without having to justify them as assertions of fact or actions affecting others.
• to ask for changes when your needs are not being met.
• to speak of your experience, with respect for your doubts and uncertainties.
• to resolve doubt without deferring to the views or wishes of anyone.

Specific to the DOMAIN of Psychotherapy, You Have the Right . . .

• to hire a therapist or counselor as coach, not boss, of your recovery.
• to receive expert and faithful assistance in healing from your therapist.
• to be assured that your therapist will refuse to engage in any other relationship with you — business, social, or sexual — for life.
• to be secure against revelation of anything you have disclosed to your therapist, unless a court of law commands it.
• to have your therapist’s undivided loyalty in relation to any and all perpetrators, abusers, or oppressors.
• to receive informative answers to questions about your condition, your hopes for recovery, the goals and methods of treatment, the therapist’s qualifications.
• to have a strong interest by your therapist in your safety, with a readiness to use all legal means to neutralize an imminent threat to your life or someone else’s.
• to have your therapist’s commitment to you not depend on your “good behavior,” unless criminal activity or ongoing threats to safety are involved.
• to know reliably the times of sessions and of your therapist’s availability, including, if you so desire, a commitment to work together for a set term.
• to telephone your therapist between regular scheduled sessions, in urgent need, and have the call returned within a reasonable time.
• to be taught skills that lessen risk of retraumatization:
• containment (reliable temporal/spatial boundaries for recovery work);
• systematic relaxation;
• control of attention and imagery (through trance or other techniques).
• to reasonable physical comfort during sessions.

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Always remember that you may have been victimized by sexual violence, but by searching for help you have started your healing.

Survivors Guide