About Us

As a provincial association, AASAS brings together a network of specialized sexual violence and trauma specific services.

Together we are many voices working towards one shared purpose – safe communities free from sexual violence.

To achieve our shared purpose, AASAS focuses on:

Connecting Voices by mobilizing and amplifying the voices of millions of Albertans who care deeply about this issue, which impacts nearly 1 in 2 of us. Together our many voices support survivors and the people who love them.

Connecting Communities by bringing together sexual assault services to represent and reflect the perspectives of people from across Alberta, urban and rural. We find common ground and unite on the biggest issues and opportunities within the sector.

Connecting the Dots around sexual violence by sharing insights from direct service providers, researchers and advocates to inform policy and funding decisions that build the capacity of the sector, and improve access to justice and support services that help keep Alberta communities healthy and safe.

An Alberta free of sexual abuse and sexual assault.

• We believe anyone can be a victim of sexual abuse and sexual assault.
• We believe anyone affected by sexual abuse and sexual assault has the right to access effective, affordable, and timely services that are distinct and specialized.
• We believe everyone has the capacity and resiliency to recover from sexual abuse and sexual assault.
• We believe victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault are not to blame and perpetrators must be held accountable.
• We believe society minimizes the impact of sexual abuse and sexual assault on individuals and that minimization has devastating outcomes for survivors.
• We believe society minimizes the crime of sexual abuse and sexual assault, and this must change in order to address and prevent issues of violence.
• We believe services addressing sexual abuse and sexual assault need to be delivered in an inclusive, respectful, and equitable manner regardless of ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, or ability.
• We believe there is a need for increased recognition and support for existing and emerging sexual assault services in Alberta.
• We believe education and awareness initiatives need to be targeted at everyone.
• We believe prevention initiatives are not to be targeted to survivors or potential survivors but towards perpetrators and potential perpetrators as well as those who can intervene.
• We believe that treatment is a form of prevention because healthy individuals and healthy communities break the cycle of abuse.
• We believe in the need for treatment and for greater access to treatment for perpetrators of sexual abuse and sexual assault.

Since the late 1980’s, representatives from the sexual assault centres in Alberta increasingly recognized the need for a provincial body to support a more collaborative, coordinated approach to sexual violence service delivery in Alberta. Fragmented services, rural and urban inequities and lack of sustainable funding for programs highlighted the need for a more unified provincial effort. In 1993, the Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres (AASAC) was incorporated as a registered charity with a view to addressing this need.

In 2010, the organization underwent a name change to the Association of Alberta Sexual Assault Services (AASAS) to reflect the fact that some communities do not have independent infrastructures of sexual assault centres but are delivering a range of sexual violence services to their communities. It was the intent of the founding members that AASAS would act as an umbrella organization for members engaged in various forms of service delivery throughout the province. Rather than deliver front‐line services AASAS would act as an intermediary focused on improving the effectiveness of the sexual violence sector and facilitating its further development.