Teenagers who have been victims of sexual assault in Quebec seek support in the helpline’s online chat

In Quebec, it is mainly young teenagers, mostly girls, who use the online chat function to contact a 24-hour hotline for victims of sexual violence.

The Montreal Sexual Assault Centre (MSAC) says that young people aged 14 to 17 make up a “significant” proportion of those who Hotline for victims of sexual violence Chat line, as it launched in November.

“There will be more and more women simply because there are more women who have been sexually assaulted,” said Dèby Trent, director of the Montreal Sexual Assault Centre.

Trent says counselors have conducted 1,400 interventions through the chat line alone. There is also a phone line.

“So we can help someone who just wants to talk or write about their experiences, whether they have been sexually abused recently or in the past,” she said.

The helpline’s chat feature, operated by a team of 28 counselors, allows users to select a confidential setting and remain anonymous.

“There are 10 counselors working the phone line,” Trent added. “There are eight counselors working the chat line now that we’ve expanded it to 24/7, and we have 10 counselors on our on-call list.”

The MSAC says it is also expanding its social media presence to reach more young Quebecers, including with a new TikTok account.

“We continue to work on improving and evolving our services and the way we respond to people in that regard,” Trent said.

WATCH: Quebec’s sexual violence hotline gets online chat feature (Nov. 2023)

According to the National Institute of Health of Quebec (INSPQ), approximately one in nine women and one in 20 men in the province reported being sexually abused by an adult before the age of 15.

Melanie Lemay, co-founder of Quebec Against Sexual Violence, believes that such cases usually go unreported. Data from INSPQ show that almost 90 percent of cases of sexual abuse are committed by a person who knows the young victim.

“The reason why it is often so difficult for young people to disclose is because the perpetrator of the violence was actually a friend or loved one,” Lemay said.

“We are aware that there are still many obstacles for young people to get involved.”