SAFE (Survivor Advocates for Empowerment)
SAFE (Survivor Advocates for Empowerment) is a survivor-led, volunteer-based organization that provides peer support, education, advocacy and community connection for people impacted by gender-based violence and abuse. At the heart of our work is a simple belief: survivors deserve to be believed, supported and connected to people who understand.
Gender-based violence can take many forms, including intimate partner and domestic violence, sexual abuse and sexual assault, human trafficking and sexual exploitation, as well as physical, emotional, psychological, financial and technology-facilitated abuse, coercion and controlling behaviours. Every survivor’s experience is different, and there is no single way that someone should respond to, recover from or move forward after violence and abuse.
SAFE creates spaces where survivors can connect without judgement, pressure or expectations. Because our organization is led and shaped by people with lived experience, we understand the importance of giving survivors choice and control over their own participation. No one is expected to share their story, disclose details of their experiences or speak about anything they are not comfortable discussing.
Through peer-led support groups, workshops, community outreach, education, advocacy and survivor-centred programming, SAFE works to address what happens beyond the immediate crisis. While crisis intervention is essential, the impact of gender-based violence often continues long after someone has left an unsafe situation or the violence itself has ended. Survivors may still face isolation, stigma, loss of community, barriers to accessing support and the challenge of rebuilding their lives.
Our work focuses on helping bridge that space.
We create opportunities for survivors to build connections, find community, learn from one another and be around people who understand experiences that can be difficult to explain. We also work within the broader community to increase awareness and understanding of gender-based violence, challenge stigma and advocate for systems and communities that better recognize and respond to survivors.
Lived experience is not simply represented at SAFE. It helps lead us. Survivor voices inform our programs, priorities, advocacy and the way we approach our work. We believe people who have experienced gender-based violence should have meaningful opportunities to influence the conversations, services and systems that affect them.
As a volunteer-based organization, our volunteers are an important part of making this possible. Some contribute directly through peer support, outreach, advocacy, programs and community events. Others bring professional expertise, leadership, administration, communications or behind-the-scenes support that helps SAFE continue to grow and strengthen its work.
SAFE is committed to creating a culture rooted in compassion, inclusion, consent, respect, choice and survivor leadership. We recognize that survivors come from different backgrounds, identities and circumstances, and that everyone’s experience and path forward looks different.
Ultimately, SAFE is about more than responding to violence. It is about what comes after. It is about reducing isolation, rebuilding connection, creating community and making sure survivors do not have to navigate life beyond crisis alone.