Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre to close temporarily, angering community
Posted Nov 11, 2020 03:43:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A key pillar of the capital's support network for survivors of sexual violence is temporarily close its doors next month for restructuring, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre (ORCC) cancelled its drop-in support programs and group counselling sessions in March, because of the pandemic. In a letter posted to its website, the centre's board of directors announced that the facility faces significant challenges with its IT infrastructure, preventing its implementing virtual and online video-based counselling. The letter also said the centre's physical space would require “extensive retrofits” in order to safely provide in-person services.
“As we enter into this period of organizational restructuring and renewal, we must acknowledge the impact on our employees, and thank the passionate and dedicated staff of the ORCC for their unwavering commitment to survivors — not just during this challenging time, but throughout the organization's history,” the board wrote. “They have served as supports and resources to survivors in moments of distress and vulnerability, and we thank them for their steadfast commitment to the ORCC's goals and mandate.”
The letter also said that the centre would work with other organizations to “ensure that no survivor is left behind.”
News of the impending temporary closure has drawn harsh criticism from other people and organizations that also assist sexual assault survivors, and has prompted an open letter from a group of former staff and volunteers, concerned by what they feel is a lack of clarity in the board's plans for the centre.
“We are dismayed at the lack of coherence of the board's actions with the organization's long held feminist values as well as the bypassing of the survivor focused approach that has been at the core of the Centre's values since its inception,” the letter states. “We have come together to ask you to provide survivors and advocates in Ottawa with the transparency they deserve.”
The letter, which invites readers to add their electronic signature in solidarity, had been signed by more than 90 members of the community as of mid-morning on Wednesday. Its demands include that the ORCC's board members communicate a timeline for the restoration of services, as well as the ways it will support staff and volunteers in the interim.
The ORCC board of directors declined 1310 NEWS' request for an interview.
The Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre has been open since December 1974, and established one of the first 24-hour crisis lines in the country. It is one of two anglophone and one francophone organizations that provide crisis services and counselling to survivors of sexual violence in Ottawa.
