Marie-Vincent launches two programs for youth sex education
Posted September 25, 2025 10:09 pm.
Last Updated September 25, 2025 10:55 pm.
In Quebec, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys experience sexual violence before the age of 18. For children with intellectual disabilities, the risk is four times higher, according to Marie-Vincent.
On Thursday night, the partners and community members gathered at Giant Steps in Montreal for the launch of two new programs by the Foundation, called Pathways and Compass. These initiatives offer training and tools based on sex education and the promotion of egalitarian relationships.
“We know that sometimes for parents it’s a hard topic to address so we said, well… We might as well teach other people surrounding those kids to help the parents and also to work with the kids,” said Jessica Martin, Project Manager & Trainer at Marie-Vincent.
Both programs are based on Lantern —Marie-Vincent’s flagship sexual violence prevention program to support preschoolers. It has been developed based on the needs of parents, educators, and caseworkers in the various early childhood settings.
“Professionals that had access to these programs said, You know what? That would be amazing to have access to that kind of training but like for older kids let’s say six to twelve years old. So here we come with Compass.
The organization celebrating its 50 years also came out with Pathways, an adaptation of their programs, specifically designed to support children with intellectual disabilities and autism.
“We’re the only center that has a university chair working behind us and that’s been 20 years in the making, so everything that we do is credibly backed by research and that’s what we use to be able to talk about all the work we do and how we work across Canada even,” said Marie-Vincent’s President and CEO, Lisa Clowery.
“We’re well known in the French community, so talking about our services in the English community is something that I see and I foresee because we help all children, it doesn’t matter what their background, beliefs, color, the skin… It’s important to know that we have these services open to the English population as well.”
