About Avalon
Get to know our feminist, not-for-profit organization
Avalon works to end sexualized violence and help those who’ve been affected by it. Our not-for-profit organization is deeply rooted in the community and provides services across Nova Scotia.
Our vision
We aspire to a world in which individuals are empowered and mobilized to share responsibility in creating communities free from sexualized violence and abuse. We provide a leadership role in raising awareness, supporting those who have experienced sexualized violence, holding sexual perpetrators accountable, and influencing social and systemic change.
Our mission
Using a feminist lens* to analyze and respond to sexualized violence/abuse and other forms of oppression, we offer a continuum of specialized services, with an emphasis on support, counselling, education, immediate medical care, forensic evaluation, leadership, and advocacy. Our services are available to those affected by all forms of sexualized violence/abuse, their families, the general public, and other support/service providers.
Our principles
As advocates, counsellors, educators, health practitioners, and activists, we are committed to providing a leadership role in the community by developing our practice around the following guiding principles:
- We believe that we can be free from sexualized violence and abuse by promoting equality and changing social norms. Therefore, we are committed to working with our colleagues, clients and community using a feminist lens to invoke healing and change.
- We believe that healing is a process. Therefore, we offer a variety of program options that reflect different needs and layers of recovery work to promote healing.
- We believe in using a flexible, collaborative approach that supports the inherent right to self-determination. As such, we support clients by being non-judgmental, providing information about their options and affirming their decisions.
- We are committed to a practice approach that empowers those impacted by sexualized violence and holds perpetrators responsible for crimes committed.
- We are committed to improving access for individuals who have been affected by sexualized violence.
- We are committed to a leadership role advocating for justice.
- We are committed to working with community partners on a local, provincial and national level to improve social policy and create social change.
- We strive to foster an environment that supports team care and resiliency to vicarious traumatization and that provides professional growth and learning
opportunities for Avalon team members, students and volunteers. - We strive to be flexible and accountable by developing policies, procedures and programs that are in keeping with our mission statement, principles and
resources. - We support leadership and employment opportunities for women.
We acknowledge that sexualized violence profoundly affects individuals, families and our community. We ask every member of our community to support us in assisting those who have been sexually victimized to heal from the injuries of such crimes. We challenge all people to help raise awareness surrounding sexualized violence and to create a world promoting individual freedom, safety, and empowerment.
*Feminist Lens: Having an understanding of the root causes of sexualized violence—defined as social sexism and the oppression of marginalized groups—and a commitment to changing the social and political culture that condones, supports and permits it; then, applying that understanding and commitment in all planning, decision-making and actions.
– An Avalon client
Read our annual reports
Want to see what we’ve been up to? Our annual reports provide transparent information about our organization’s successes, challenges, growth and funding. View and download our annual reports (PDFs):