New WRPS campaign raises awareness

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Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault and violence.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service has partnered with five local organizations to launch the โ€˜Help is Hereโ€™ campaign.  

One of those organizations is the Sexual Support Centre of Waterloo Region. According to an email to The Cord from Saranyaa Tharmalingam, their manager of counselling services, โ€œthe Help is Here campaign is an initiative created by Waterloo Regional Police Services to help raise awareness around supports for survivors of sexual violence.โ€  

Other organizations include the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Treatment Centre of Waterloo Region, Family and Children Services, and the Victim Services of Waterloo Region.  

โ€œThere is a lot of misinformation around what sexual violence is and what it can look like,โ€ Tharmalingam said.  

A video included in the campaign is aimed at clarifying the information landscape surrounding sexual violence, and also โ€œwhere survivors can get support from a trauma-specific lens and understanding.โ€  

Help is Here is the culmination of a grant received by the WRPS โ€œto do social media awareness work around sexual violence (SV) support and prevention in the region.โ€ 

This year, according to the email sent by Tharmalingam, the campaign was particularly โ€œfocused on raising awareness around supports for the BIPOC community members and to give information on rights, legal aspects, and support centres, and programming for survivors.โ€  

The SASC has an โ€œonline volunteer-run chat service and support line, legal advocacy, public education, groups and workshops, and individual counselling services [with which] we are able to support survivors and those supporting survivors.โ€  

According to another email, sent by Staff Sergeant Jen Ranta of WRPS, the campaign hopes to highlight โ€œall of the supports and resources available to sexual violence survivors in Waterloo region.โ€  

โ€œThe goal is to wrap survivors in community care, while also educating the community on sexual violence and how to prevent it.โ€  

It is also โ€œto raise awareness about sexual violence,โ€ Ranta said in the email.  

This includes spreading information about โ€œhow to report [sexual violence] and how we connect survivors with community support.โ€ 

According to a video about the campaign on WRPSโ€™ website, #HelpIsHereWR hopes to foster โ€œa collaborative approach to support survivors of sexual assaultโ€ in the Waterloo Region.  

โ€œThe Waterloo Region Police Service and our partners believe that everyone impacted by sexual violence should be treated with respect and dignity, fairness and honesty, and in a professional and bias-free manner,โ€ the website says. 

Victims of sexual assault or anyone interested in learning about the resources available for sexual assault is encouraged to check out the website.  


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