current Projects

Stories of Hope Project

The idea for the Stories of Hope project came from victims/survivors of sexual violence who want to share their healing, resilience and courage with others in the Ottawa community. When all the stories are collected & published the Stories of Hope Book will be used as a fundraiser to support our services and programs.
View the submission guidelines.

Women as Experts: Healing from Sexual Violence, Mental Health and Addictions

The objective of this pilot project is to provide culturally appropriate counselling and support groups to diverse communities in their own neighbourhoods.  A community health promoter will outreach to these communities and provide services in two community health Centres. In addition, the Health Promoter will engage young women in 6 high schools across the city to promote and increase access to one on one sexual assault support and counselling. 
This project is funded by Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion

Youth, Alcohol & Sexual Violence – Research Project

In partnership with the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence against Women (OCTEVAW), and Professor Holly Johnston of the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre is working on a research project looking at youth, alcohol and sexual violence. The purpose of this research is to:

  • review existing literature to identify successful evidence-based programs and promising practices with a particular focus on reducing alcohol-related sexual violence;
  • Conduct an environmental scan of current efforts to prevent sexual violence, in particular alcohol-related sexual violence, through consultation with local stakeholders and service providers;
  • Conduct 4 focus groups with young women and men (separately) recruited from local high schools and 4 focus groups with college and university students (mixed female/male) to assess their perceptions of risks for sexual assault in general, and in relation to alcohol specifically, and how prevention efforts could help address these risks; and
  • Conduct 2 focus groups (French and English) with local service providers and youth workers to assess their perceptions of risks for sexual assault, gaps in current programs and interventions, and how future prevention efforts could help address these gaps.

The findings of the project and recommendations will be shared with the community at an event in February 2011.  
This project is funded by Crime Prevention Ottawa

Strategic Planning for Sustainable Fundraising

The goal of this project is to enhance the ORCC's strategic vision and commitment to sustainable fundraising. The ORCC now has 3 year fundraising plan
This project was funded by the Trillium Foundation.

Girls Chat Project

The objective of this project is to provide young women from immigrant and refugee backgrounds the opportunity to address their issues in a confidential and supportive environment. Through weekly discussions, young women with immigrant and refugee background receive information on different topics such as healthy body image, self-esteem, healthy sexuality and sexual violence. These weekly sessions provide an opportunity for the participants to express themselves and share their thoughts with peers who are facing similar challenges. Another objective of the project is to organize information sessions for teachers, school administrators and other service providers in the community. In these sessions the multiple needs of young women with immigrant and refugee background are highlighted and ways to increase their access to available services identified. 
This project is in its fifth year and currently runs out of six Ottawa high schools with 90 young women participating weekly.
This project is currently funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation and Urban and Priorities Schools Project