About US

AMVOSA (Advocates for Males Victimized by Sexual Abuse) is an organization sponsored by the Canadian Mental Health Association, The mission of AMVOSA is to promote, educate and advocate for a range of effective community strategies that eliminate the sexual abuse of males and the resulting harmful impacts;to promote awareness and prevention; to educate community members and professionals and to advocate for resource development and innovative service delivery models.

AMVOSA was started in 1992 by a group of concerned citizens. In 1993 the EARS line began it's service operating through the CMHA's 24 hour Distress Centre. The EARS line (570-3277:toll-free 1-800-553-3277) provides confidential, supportive listening and information for male survivors of sexual abuse. In the late 1990's, a Trillium grant provided the resources for AMVOSA to design and implement a comprehensive training/education curriculum for therapists, volunteers and community organizations. The curriculum was based on Adrienne Crowler's book, Opening The Door. . These workshops have the potential to increase the capacity of others who work with males who have been sexually abused, increase awareness and avenues to resources, including publications and factsheets produced by AMVOSA.

Initially, AMVOSA's mandate was to serve Waterloo Region; however, we have recently expanded our services to include those communities in Wellington and Dufferin counties as well. These expanded services, as well as this on-line resource centre are made possible by recent funding received from the Office of the Victims of Crime. It is our hope that AMVOSA will continue to have opportunities to improve awareness about, and services related to male sexual abuse.