Si vous désirez obtenir des services en français, prière d’appeler la ligne FEM’AIDE au 1-877-336-2433.
The aim of Family Service Toronto’s Violence against Women (VAW) program is to promote non-violence and to work towards the eventual elimination of violence against women. The VAW Program assists women-identified people who have experienced abuse during the course of their lives. Abuse may have occurred in childhood, during a past relationship, or it may be an ongoing concern in a current relationship.
For up-to-date information on current workshops and groups, please visit the Workshops, Groups and Events page, Violence against Women section, or contact our Service Access Unit at 416.595.9618.
Our counselling services are available in English, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Tamil to women-identified people who live and/or work in Toronto. We provide counselling people who have been labelled with developmental or intellectual disabilities and have experienced abuse.
Counselling services provided on an individual basis are goal-directed and time limited. You and your counsellor will work together to define a plan of service and will regularly check in on progress.
The VAW Program works from a feminist, intersectional, anti-oppressive and trauma-informed framework. Read the VAW Intersectional Feminist Statement for more information.
For more information about the VAW program please contact:
Woman abuse is defined as the intent by a man to intimidate and control his female partner, either by threat or by physical force on her person, her children, her pets or her property. The purpose of abuse is to induce fear and gain control. Underlying all abuse is a power imbalance between offender and victim.
If you are in crisis now, please call one of the following lines:
FST-VAW Early Warning Signs quiz is a simple way for girls and women of all ages and abilities to determine if they are in an unhealthy or dangerous relationship. The content of the questions were informed by women who were in abusive relationship and what they said they experienced with their partners. Read or take the Early Warning Signs quiz, or download/print Early Warning Signs brochure.
To learn more about abuse please read VAW – Issues you may be facing
Violence Against Women – Issues you may be facing
For more agencies that provide support, please call or text 211; toll free 1-877-330-3213;
24 hours a day/ 7 days a week database of community social services; available in over 150 languages
Police and Ambulance
Call 911 for immediate emergency assistance (police, fire, and/or ambulance)
For non-emergency police matters call 416-808-2222
416-863-0511
Toll free 1-866-863-0511
Toll free TTY 1-866-863-7868; #SAFE (#7233)
Confidential and anonymous crisis counseling, safety planning, emotional support, information and referrals, 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for women in Ontario; service available in 200 languages
Fem’aide
Pour les services en français veuillez appeler Fem’aide ; 1-877-336-2433
ATS 1-866-860-7082 ; 24 hueres sur 24 / 7 jours sur 7
416-408-4357 (408-HELP) available 24 hours a day / 7 days a week and 365 days a year
Provides crisis intervention & emotional support; multilingual helplines available
Call or text toll free 9-8-8 for the suicide crisis helpline
416-597-8808;
24 hours / 7 days a week
Provides peer support to survivors of sexual violence
416-323-9149
Legal, counselling and interpretation services to marginalized and racialized populations of women and gender diverse people who have survived violence
416-203-0050
Provides names and locations of food banks in Toronto Area
647-224-1371
Offers a variety of services for newcomer women and their families
416-439-7111
A women’s resource centre which provides information, education, and support services to assist women, girls, and gender diverse people
416-961-8100
Provides an array of programs for women, girls, and gender diverse people
416-808-7066
Provides support for victims of crime and sudden tragedy
Amnesty International Toronto Organization (AITO) Activism revolving around putting a stop to violence against women around the
White Ribbon Men working to end men’s violence against women