At the Montreal Assault Prevention Centre, education is a powerful tool in the fight against violence. Director Odélie Joly shares how the long-standing organization empowers women, children, and vulnerable communities with practical skills and knowledge to prevent assault. Through workshops and self-defence programs, the Centre continues to make a meaningful impact while advocating for stronger support and funding for prevention efforts.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
The Montreal Assault Prevention Centre (Centre de prévention des agressions de Montréal) is a non-profit organization and registered charity since 1984. Our mission is to confront the reality of violence in our midst with a variety of public education forums focusing on assault prevention.
The Centre offers a range of assault prevention programs designed for particularly vulnerable groups such as children, adolescents, women of all ages, as well as people living with a functional physical and/or intellectual limitation.
The program ACTION is a self-defence course by and for women with the aim of offering participants concrete and effective verbal and physical tools to protect themselves, set limits and stop various situations of aggression. We believe that every woman has the right to live free of violence and discrimination.
The program CAP/ESPACE offers children from 3 years old to 12 years old (preschool and elementary) relevant information and concrete tools to feel safe, strong, and free. It also aims to sensitize parents and school staff to reduce children’s vulnerability to assault.
What problem does it aim to solve?
The Centre’s programs focus on developing and building capacity and resources to help participants cope with difficult and dangerous situations. For the Centre, three factors increase the vulnerability to abuse of certain groups: lack of information, dependence, and isolation.
When did you start/join it?
I joined almost a year ago as director, but the Center has existed for 42 years now! The last director was there for 41 years.
What made you want to get involved?
As soon as I became aware of the Center’s mission and its impact, I immediately wanted to get involved. The Center has a long history and has repeatedly demonstrated how its programs can have a major, even essential, impact on preventing aggressions against vulnerable people. Our workshops change lives and prevent situations of violence and abuse.
What was the situation like when you started?
I started only less than a year ago, so the situation was not really different.
How has it changed since?
Unfortunately, we have seen since the beginning of 2026 that it will be another difficult year in terms of violence against women. In less than forty days, six women have been murdered, at least four of them by partners known for their violence.
But for the Centre, in one year, our impact has been incredible. We have given 36 courses to more than 320 women and teenage girls, and we have offered workshops to nearly 3800 children, parents and school staff.
We believe that a community where everyone feels safe and IS safe is possible!
What more needs to be done?
We must recognize the very important role of prevention. It allows us, collectively, to avoid many situations that would be far more costly for society.
Preventing violence begins with education. It is crucial that all vulnerable individuals, including children, understand their rights, what constitutes assault, and, most importantly, know the resources available to help them. Therefore, ensuring adequate funding is essential to guarantee access to these community and institutional resources (women’s centers, shelters for women victims of violence, CAVAC, SOS Violence conjugale, Marie-Vincent, and so many more).
How can our readers help?
The readers can give money for our mission. The donations are going directly to our prevention activities. As we are a registered charity in Canada, donors will receive a receipt for tax purposes. The readers can give money on our website. On the website, they can also registered to a action course (self-defence) and contact us if they are interested in our services. We are offering our courses and workshops in English, French and sometimes Spanish.
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CENTRE D’ÉDUCATION ET D’ACTION DES FEMMES DE MONTRÉAL (CEAF)
