Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence Awards

Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Victim Service Award

Carly Kalish (she/her)

It is our pleasure to announce that Carly Kalish, Executive Director at Victim Services Toronto in Toronto, Ontario is the recipient of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Victim Service Award.

Carly Kalish exemplifies the criteria that this award was designed to recognize. She has empowered victims and survivors of crime through her work in building Toronto’s first-ever human trafficking trauma program at East Metro Youth Services. Carly has also partnered with local school boards to create a prevention-focused youth symposium that drew 15,000 teens and parents. She developed a victim-informed human trafficking unit with police and recruited a survivor with social work experience to join officers in responding to human trafficking calls. Carly has inspired other service providers to support the unique needs of human trafficking survivors. Her vision to embed social workers into human trafficking units of police is now a best practice model for victim support in Durham, Ottawa, Calgary, and Toronto. In Toronto, Carly recognized that survivors face delays in accessing support despite their urgent needs, so she created the pilot project, “Exit Route,” which embedded human trafficking victim advocates and housing specialists in police divisions. In its first nine months, Exit Route supported 1,466 victims. Carly has also inspired several youth victims that she has counselled to join victim service agencies in client-facing roles across Ontario. Carly has achieved meaningful change that has improved the experiences of those who have been touched by crime in Canada by being a vital advisor for stakeholders and a lifeline for victims healing from trauma. One example of Carly’s leadership and commitment to survivors is Project Recover, a cross-sector collaboration involving financial institutions, non-profits, credit bureaus, and service providers that aims to remove debt that survivors of trafficking may incur while being victimized.

Award Recipient Biography

Every day in Toronto, Carly’s programs and leadership efforts improve the lives of those affected by crime – particularly women fleeing intimate partner violence and trafficking. As the Executive Director of Victim Services Toronto, Carly leads a team of social workers providing 24/7 support to anyone experiencing crime or sudden tragedy and works with police services and victim service providers in divisions and communities across Toronto to improve support using a victim-informed approach.

Carly grew up with strong maternal role models in her mother and grandmother and was always drawn toward issues that impacted women. As an undergraduate student, she travelled to West Africa to volunteer at a clinic that supported vulnerable women. While she had always been interested in supporting women in the sex trade, it was during this time that she learned and decided that this was what she wanted to do with her life. She would return and build a career helping marginalized and victimized members of the community.

“There are a lot of people out there who need someone who will never give up, who keeps caring no matter what. Carly is the one who does this. She will continue to do this because it is who she is.” – Kaitlin Bick

Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Volunteer Victim Service Award

Arlène Gaudreault (she/her)

It is our pleasure to announce that Arlène Gaudreault, Criminologist, is the recipient of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Volunteer Victim Service Award.

Arlène Gaudreault coordinated Quebec's first crime victim assistance center. A pioneer in a field where everything had yet to be done, she went out to meet vulnerable people left behind by the justice system and in their efforts to get help.

From 1988 to 2023, she was president of the Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes. She spoke out on behalf of victims to defend their rights before various bodies in Quebec and Canada. With numerous partners, she has worked to develop services for victims, improve practices, and gain recognition for their rights. As an instructor (1992-2021), she inspired many students and professionals in the field. Through her participation in numerous committees and consultations, she has also influenced the development of programs and initiatives that have improved the lives of victims and their families.

Arlène is recognized for her leadership, determination, and commitment.

Award Recipient Biography

Over the past 40 years, Arlène has supported and accompanied many victims and their loved ones in their efforts. She has represented their interests and concerns during the analysis of legislative proposals, such as the reform of Quebec's compensation system or the adoption of the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights.

A pioneer in victimology teaching (1993-2010), Arlène has trained many students in her wake. On numerous occasions, she has been involved in awareness-raising and training activities. For three years, she travelled across Quebec, providing training on the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights to nearly 500 front-line workers. These exchanges fostered the transfer of knowledge and a greater understanding of criminal victimization and the difficulties encountered by victims and their loved ones. They provided food for thought on the changes we need to implement to better meet our obligations to victims and survivors, humanize our practices, and advance our policies and laws.

Arlène has often been asked to share her expertise. She has been a speaker at over 125 conferences and scientific events and is the author of over 50 publications on a wide range of topics relating to victim assistance, the advancement of victims' rights, and access to justice. In 2000, she was Vice-President of the Tenth International Symposium on Victimology. She was recently appointed to the Conseil de la magistrature du Québec as a member of the public and representative of an organization that helps victims.

In recognition of her commitment, Arlène has received several awards, including the Prix de la justice (1997), the Canadian Criminal Justice Association Excellence Award (2003), the Prix Robert-Sauvé from the Commission des services juridiques du Québec (2007), and the Prix Hommage from the Société de criminologie du Québec (2013).

Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Victim-Centered Policing Award

Stacey Cowie (she/her)

It is our pleasure to announce that Stacey Cowie, Detective Constable and Domestic Violence/Elder Abuse Coordinator for the Peterborough Police Service as the recipient of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Victim-Centered Policing Award.

Detective Constable Stacey Cowie exemplifies the criteria that this award was designed to recognize. She has demonstrated an outstanding capacity to respond to the needs of victims and survivors of crime by conducting a month’s long investigation that identified over 60 youth/vulnerable victims of voyeurism. Detective Cowie conducted herself in a trauma-informed manner, meeting with survivors at their homes or in the victim interview room, even when not required, to allow them a safe space to have their reaction of what had happened to them. Detective Cowie has inspired other police services professionals by making it her mission to share trauma-informed policing and interview techniques with other officers. She was part of a multidisciplinary team that led training for all platoons and 911 communicators. Detective Cowie is often regarded as an expert within the Service for trauma-informed investigations and continues to push for best practices when it comes to supporting victims and survivors of crime. Detective Cowie has also ensured that victims of crime were informed about their rights and the services, assistance, and laws in place to help them and their families by ensuring all survivors that she works with are informed of their rights to participation and their rights to receive support through victim services. She is always collaborating with victim services to ensure that survivors are well supported throughout the court process.

Award Recipient Biography

Detective Constable Stacey Cowie has been employed as a Police Constable since 2009 when she began her career with the Toronto Police Service. In June of 2016, she became a serving member of the Peterborough Police Service. Stacey lives in the Peterborough area and is a dedicated mom of two beautiful children. Detective Cowie currently holds the rank of a 1st class Detective Constable and is assigned to the Criminal Investigative Bureau. She is driven to better the experiences of victims and survivors of crime and empower them to participate in the criminal justice system.

Detective Cowie also contributed to the development of a Guide for Survivors of Sexual Assaults, which provides survivors with options on reporting, safety planning, and community resources. During her time as the Domestic Violence Coordinator, Detective Cowie has already changed internal processes for investigating incidents of domestic disputes to ensure that the information captured is aligned with provincial standards and recommendations made by the Death Review Committees.

“I always feel incredibly lucky to have DC Cowie on a case with me, as I know that everything that can be done, will be done. I also know that victims on her cases will be treated with empathy and compassion.” - Lisa Wannamaker, Assistant Crown Attorney

Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Legal Practice and Victim Support Award

Leighann Burns

It is our pleasure to announce that Leighann Burns, Barrister and Solicitor at Leighann Burns Family Law in Ottawa, Ontario, is the recipient of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Excellence in Legal Practice and Victim Support Award.

Leighann Burns exemplifies the criteria that this award was designed to recognize. She has demonstrated an outstanding capacity to support victims of crime by developing a rural outreach program for a women’s shelter with a feminist, anti-racist/anti-oppressive analysis to deconstruct violence against women and its intersections with other forms of oppression. Along with feminist allies and survivors of violence, Leighann has organized countless campaigns and actions along with annual lobbies at Queen’s Park. Leighann has inspired other legal practitioners and promoted best practices by supporting victims of crime through her advocacy for women in the family court system. She has conducted research on what happens when women disclose violence in their family court claims, and with the help of pro bono law students, Leighann conducted two reviews of random, representative samples of family law files in Ottawa. She presented the findings to Ottawa’s Community Liaison Resource Committee, the 2019 European Conference on Domestic Violence, the 2020 Canadian Domestic Violence Conference, the 2022 International Coercive Control Conference, and to Ottawa’s Family Law Institute and the Family Violence Advanced Seminar for Lawyers in 2023. Leighann has also ensured that victims of crime were informed about the rights, services, assistance, and laws available to help them by working to end violence against women and their children and working to improve the police response to these cases. She also participated in and co-developed the film The Smallest Steps, a documentary that weaves together accounts of veteran activists with the beginning steps two survivors of violence and two young women embarki

ng on their legal careers, uniting around the call to action regarding violence against women.

Award Recipient Biography

Leighann was born in Northern Quebec, raised in West Quebec, and moved to Ottawa with her family in 1981. After finishing her first degree, Leighann was hired by Leeds and Grenville Interval House to develop a rural outreach program to survivors of abuse. Learning the stories of women she worked with inspired Leighann to dedicate her life to ending violence against women. She received her Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa in 2005.

Since 2021, Leighann has taught Chasing Justice: Selected Topics in Family Law at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. She created the course, which teaches students about the evolution of responses to violence against women since its first disclosure in Canada and the important role the activism of the autonomous women’s movement has played in advancing women’s equality and freedom from violence. Additionally, Leighann hosted a meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women with local women's groups, victim service providers, and survivors.

“Leighann has never been afraid to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves despite significant personal sacrifices and risk to her own safety.” – Emily Comor

Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Student Video Competition Award

Jessica Sleiman

It is our pleasure to announce that Jessica Sleiman is the recipient of the Victims and Survivors of Crime Week 2024 Student Video Competition Award. For this competition, students were asked to submit a video entry reflecting on the theme for Victims Week: The Power of Collaboration.

Watch the video (Available in English only)

Award Recipient Biographies

Honourable Mentions

The Department of Justice Canada would like to highlight three runner-up videos of the Student Video Competition Award for 2024.

Dominique Bradford & Sarah Wilkins
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Violette Prignac Merle
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Brendan Sorenson
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