Being a Good Ally

To request assistance, please contact us.

There are still many outdated ideas circulating about the roles of men and women and how they should behave. However, roles are evolving rapidly. Nowadays, more and more men are raising their children alone, sharing household chores, caring for children, and openly talking about their feelings.

Most men, young or adult, treat women respectfully, and the majority of couples have healthy romantic and sexual relationships. However, there remains a significant number of people who continue to have violent behaviours and commit acts without the other person’s consent.

Remember that:

Each person is responsible for their actions;
Violence is never an acceptable way to react and it often leads to even more violence;
Alcohol, drugs, or illness are NOT excuses;
Physical violence and threats of violence are crimes;
A person can change their violent behaviours with the help of their friends and the community;
Men, regardless of age, can also be assaulted, drugged, or raped.

How to Act as a Witness to Sexual Assault?

As a witness, you have a duty to intervene in a situation of sexual violence. Adopting the right intervention reflexes can make all the difference:

Take a stand against manifestations of sexist culture and rape culture;
Believe the person and do not judge them;
Show empathy;
Stop victim-blaming and hold the perpetrator accountable;
Avoid asking too many questions;
Respect the victim’s pace, her choices, her questions.

What Can We Do to Be a Good Ally?

Being a good ally is defined in several ways, with the primary objective of helping to make the world safer for the girls and women around you.

In Your Intimate Relationships:

Offer your moral support to victims of violence;
Do not pressure your partner to have sexual intercourse;
Educate yourself about what constitutes sexual assault (such as taking advantage of a person when they are intoxicated and unable to remember what happened, or when they are not able to give her consent);
Set an example and respect consent. No means no. If you continue without the other person’s consent, you can leave significant consequences in the person’s life in addition to committing a crime for which you can be charged.

With Other Guys, We Encourage You To:

Form a group of men ready to commit to ending violence against women. You and your friends can make a huge difference by giving other men the opportunity to discuss the issue. Men have remained silent for far too long.
Openly disapprove of sexual harassment and any form of sexual assault. Even if you are not the organizer type, you could, for example, send letters to the editor, call in to talk shows, sign petitions, etc.
Condemn sexist language when you hear it; degrading comments about women should not be tolerated in society.

in General, We Encourage You To:

Read the newspapers. Browse the Internet. Talk to the women around you. Pay attention to the stories of sexual assault and harassment that are reported every day. You will realize that violence against women is not a myth and that it is an existing problem at the local, national, and international level.

Support organizations that help victims of violence committed by men. You can make a donation or BECOME A MEMBER of organizations that fight against violence, such as CALACS de Charlevoix, Maison la Montée (women’s shelter), Centre-Femmes aux plurielles, or Centre des femmes de Charlevoix.

Contribute financially or by becoming a volunteer for Évolution Charlevoix (which works directly with violent behaviours and anger management in men)