The CIViS project — Centre de services intégrés en violence sexuelle — led by La Traversée in partnership with the CAVAC de la Montérégie and the Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL) in Saint-Lambert, has just received the Prix Joseph-Beaubien, the highest distinction of the Union des municipalités du Québec.
“Trauma is the experience of death, without actually dying. When you experience death while remaining alive, it is extremely difficult to find the energy needed to reach out for help.” — Hélène Latrille, Clinical Psychologist and Director of Clinical Services, La Traversée
It is from this reality — not from administrative logic — that the Integrated Sexual Violence Services project was born.
Because handing someone a phone number scribbled on a piece of paper and hoping they’ll call back is not a response. Not when you understand what trauma does to the body — what it takes, what it exhausts. Not when navigating between systems demands an energy that many people simply no longer have.
CIViS operates from a different principle: if a person doesn’t have the energy to knock on multiple doors, we open the doors — we break down the walls.
Under one roof, in Saint-Lambert, accessible to all people throughout the Montérégie region, psychotherapeutic, psychosocial, socio-judicial, and legal services. A coordinated team. More than 40 partners mobilized. People who have experienced sexual violence do not have to repeat their story. They do not have to manage alone the complexity of a path that even professionals struggle to navigate.
“After a sexual assault, the path for people who have experienced sexual violence is often a real puzzle. The CIViS project has changed that.” — Christine Vilcocq, Executive Director, La Traversée
What three years have shown
Since 2023, 645 people have been accompanied through CIViS. Of those, 44% chose to file a complaint — nearly nine times the national average of approximately 5%.
This figure deserves a moment of reflection. It does not mean that CIViS persuades people to file complaints. It means that when a person is believed, supported, and able to access the care they need, they regain the capacity to decide freely. Mental health care that leads to justice. This, too, is how we fight impunity.
55% of the investigative interviews conducted on our premises involved children and teenagers — in an adapted environment, with police officers without uniforms or visible firearms, and with the possibility of receiving psychosocial support immediately before or after the interview. Because elsewhere, you leave alone. Fragile from what you have just been through, without a safety net.
“Today, we focus on the person’s recovery first.” — Jean-François Lapolice, Deputy Director, Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL)
This is a paradigm shift. Previously, the urgency of judicial proceedings dictated the method: obtain as much information as possible, as quickly as possible. Today, psychological safety is the foundation on which access to justice rests. It is no longer the person who adapts to the system — it is practice that adapts to their pace.
A recognition, and a responsibility
On May 15, 2026, the CIViS project won the Prix Joseph-Beaubien, the highest distinction of the Mérite Ovation municipale from the Union des municipalités du Québec. Awarded across all categories, it recognizes the project that stands out most for its ingenuity, perseverance, and vitality.
“This award obligates us as much as it honours us. It acknowledges that something is working here — and that gives us the responsibility to do everything we can to make it exist elsewhere.” — Christine Vilcocq, Executive Director, La Traversée
CIViS is a project co-led with the CAVAC de la Montérégie and the Service de police de l’agglomération de Longueuil (SPAL). The project received three years of start-up funding from the Ministère de la Justice du Québec. Discussions are underway with partners across Québec to replicate this model.
Because a right response to sexual violence should not depend on your postal code.
Briser les murs
The documentary Briser les murs, produced by Savoir média, follows the CIViS project over three years. In January 2026, just three months after its release, it had been viewed more than 2.7 million times.
Watch the documentary.
The project was also the subject of an in-depth report by Denis Wong for Radio-Canada, with photographs by Denis Wong and illustrations by Mathieu Blanchette. People who have experienced sexual violence and members of the CIViS teams share their testimony on the reach of this initiative for the Montérégie region and for Québec.
Read the report on Radio-Canada.