FAQs

All our volunteers need to successfully complete our crisis line training (~50 hours). Even if your interest is another role, you’re required to commit to at least one year to the crisis line before being able to fill other roles.

Our crisis line reflects the population of survivors we serve. We welcome applications from women (cis, trans, genderqueer, etc), non-binary people, and trans people. We prioritize applications from Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour. There is no maximum age, but you must be over 18 years old.

If you’d like to be notified about our next crisis line training recruitment, please email volunteering@trccmwar.ca.

Yes! You can help us during our special events by:

• Hosting your own fundraising initiatives
• Setting up and tearing down
• Providing child care
• Help with food / meal preparation
• Any skills you have that we need i.e.: video, audio, troubleshooting, etc.

We encourage all men / male-identified allies to contact the following organizations:

• White Ribbon
• The Gatehouse
• Male Allies against Sexual Violence

1. 24-Hour Crisis Line Counsellor
   We hold counselor training in the Spring and Fall every year. Crisis line counsellors complete about 50 hours of training before taking on a shift on the crisis line. Crisis line counselling entails a 1 year commitment.
2. Front Desk volunteer
   This person is the first point of contact for any survivor looking to access our services. We need constant support at our front desk answering calls, emails, connecting survivors with staff and administrative support.Note: we are not currently accepting Front Desk volunteers while the centre is closed due to the pandemic.
3. Court/Medical Support and/or Individual Counsellor
   After volunteering on the crisis line for one year, you may move to peer counselling (in-person or virtual), medical appointments, court support: accompanying survivors to various court proceedings including criminal court, or family court.
4. Fundraiser committee members
   The Centre plans many fundraising events during the year. These events require volunteer committee members to help bring the event to life. Committees can include:
   • Decor/art
   • Accessibility
   • Media
   • Food
   • Social media, and more!

Please email volunteering@trccmwar.ca to be placed on the committee list. Someone will reach out to you when event planning begins.

In any instance when someone has been persuaded, forced, groomed, bullied, intoxicated or tricked into any sexual situation, informed consent has not been given which results in an assault.

Often times, sexual assault is perpetrated in a way that is not captured in mainstream media. Perpetrators of violence are often someone the survivor knows or even trusts; perpetrators will often use this to deflect accountability onto the survivor by grooming, gaslighting, etc. leaving the survivor to question if an assault even occurred. Denial is also a form of self preservation which is why many survivors come forward years after their assault.

1. Once you dial our crisis line number an operator will answer and say, “Toronto Rape Crisis Centre Answering Service”. They will ask for your name (you can remain anonymous if you’d like) and ask what number you’d like the counsellor to reach you.
2. The operator will then call the counsellor on duty and relay your contact information.
3. The counsellor on duty will call the number you provided from a blocked number.

Note:

• The operator is not a member of our collective or a counsellor.
• If you do not have a phone number where we can give you a call back, the operator may ask if you’d like to stay on the line and attempt to be connected to a counsellor directly (except for calls between 12am and 8am).
• We can access interpreters for survivors 24/7. It takes about 2 minutes to get someone on the line.

Remember:

• All calls are confidential, no information is recorded/published
• Counsellors will never ask for details or ask ‘Why are you calling?’
• The caller decides what the call will about about/not about
• Counsellors are there to actively listen

Our crisis line will often take calls from folx living outside of Toronto. Check out our Resources page for Sexual Assault Centres in Ontario.

Web Browsers like Google Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox are designed to leave traces behind that indicate where you’ve been and what you’ve been looking at on the Internet. It’s hard to absolutely guarantee that your activity on the Internet can’t be traced at all, but here are some simple things you can do to reduce the chances of someone looking through your computer.

Many browsers now have the option of Private Browsing. If you access this option no information from your current browsing session will be saved. Please note that you will need to choose this option each time you start a new browsing session. If your browser does not have Private Browsing options then please follow the steps below:

 In general, you will need to erase two things:

• Your Cache (this is where the computer stores copies of files you’ve recently looked at with your web browser)
• Your History List (this is a single file containing the addresses of the places you’ve recently visited)

If you use Google Chrome:

• In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu
• Select History.
• Click the button Clear browsing data. A dialog will appear.
• From the drop-down menu, select how much history you want to delete. To clear your entire browsing history, select the beginning of time.
• Check the boxes for the data you want Chrome to clear, including “browsing history.”
• Click the button Clear browsing data.

 If you use Internet Explorer:

• Open the TOOLS menu, select INTERNET OPTIONS.
• Select the GENERAL tab at the top.
• In the section called “Temporary Internet Files,” click on “Delete Files”
• Your cache will now be cleared.
• On the same screen, in the section called “History,” click on “Clear History”
• Your history list will now be cleared.
• If there is a lot of history on your list, this might take a few moments.
• Note that clearing the cache and history in Internet Explorer also automatically clears your address bar.

If you use Firefox:

• Open the TOOLS menu, select OPTIONS
• Select the PRIVACY tab located on the left side of the menu bar.
• Select the “History” tab and click on “Clear”
• Your history will now be cleared.
• Select the “Cache” tab and click on “Clear”
• Your cache will now be cleared.
• Note that clearing the cache and history in Firefox automatically clears your address bar as well.
  NOTE: There is also another option called “Clear all information stored while browsing.” This will remove ALL of your browsing history, cache, recently downloaded files; all saved information and searches, all cookies and saved passwords. To do this:
• Select this tab and click OK
• You will get a pop-up to confirm that you are about to erase all information.
• Click OK

One more important tip!

When you clear the cache and the history list, you erase not only the information on where you’ve been, but any other information that had been previously stored there. So, if your partner or someone else has access to your computer and sees that the cache and the history list have been completely emptied, they may know that you have cleared it.

Yes, but keep in mind:

• Staff will accommodate requests for interviews on a case-by-case basis.
• We may not be able to answer your email in time so please allow for as much lead time as possible.
• Please thoroughly review our website to look for answers to your questions before contacting us.
• We prioritize research that in some way benefits the TRCC and the survivors we serve. We have a critical analysis of the academic industrial complex and while more research is needed to support QTBIPOC survivors (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour), we have limited resources and choose to represent ourselves in radical grassroots organizing.

Submit your request for an interview for your assignment/postgraduate research to info@trccmwar.ca, along with details on the context/background, intention of use or publication.

Our resources are limited. If you would  have a proposal you’d like to share, we ask you to first ensure your proposal is:

• Survivor-centred, feminist, anti-oppressive and inclusive of all genders
• Include a plan that includes your: objective, timeline, budget and responsibilities

Please email it to info@trccmwar.ca. Please expect a response within 2 weeks.

We serve anyone who identifies as a survivor of violence including trans people, non-binary folx, cisgender men and women, and youth.

Indigenous, Black, trans, and disabled people including, children and seniors, experience the highest levels of violence here in Toronto and across the world.

We are an undisclosed location for the safety of staff and survivors. We also have an emergency exit button on this website in case you are not alone when browsing and don’t want others to know your browser history. Please call the centre for its location if you want to come in.

• Host your own fundraising initiatives
• Support set-up and tear down of events
• Providing child care
• Help with food / meal preparation
• Any skills you have that we need i.e.: video, audio, troubleshooting, etc.

The decision to report or not should be made by the survivor without pressure or guilt from external sources. The process to report can be retraumatizing so the decision is theirs and theirs alone. The survivor is not responsible for the actions of a predator.

Click here for our top 20 tips!

Call 416-597-1171, or

Contact us by mail:
P.O. Box 59098
Toronto, Ontario
M6R 3B5