In the REES platform, click on “Access Support” for information about resources across the province. There is also an interactive map of sexual assault services across Canada located https://reescommunity.com/resources

REES (Respect, Educate, Empower Survivors) is a third-party encrypted platform that allows community members to create a confidential and anonymous report of an incident. It also offers links to resources and supports available. It is trusted by dozens of universities, businesses and volunteer communities.

As a survivor-centred and trauma-informed platform, REES was launched in 2020 to enhance safety and reduce barriers to sexual-assault reporting on post-secondary campuses, and has since expanded to partner with corporate workplaces, sports organizations, community events, and music festivals across Canada and the U.S.

REES considers privacy in all aspects of its software design. REES strives for compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and is developed using the principles of Privacy by Design. All Data is stored in Canada.

We encourage those working or gathering together in the Alberta technology community to use it including founders, mentors, funders, service providers and community supporters.

The program does not replace existing HR policies or processes within Alberta tech organizations, and it is not intended for use by employees of startups, companies and organizations. 

Anonymous reports submitted to REES will not initiate investigation or recourse.

You can report any bullying, abuse, harassment, discrimination or microaggressions that happen within the startup community. Incidents may be in-person, online or virtual and any type of incident can be reported.

• Bullying can be obvious or it can be subtle, and usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour. But it’s always a misuse of power and control with the intention to: insult, intimidate, humiliate, be malicious, degrade, or be offensive. This can include cyberbullying, which is the use of technology to verbally, socially, and sexually bully, threaten, harass or intimidate.
• Abuse of Power and Authority takes away rights and undermines self-esteem by showing favouritism, or excluding someone or by using condescending, patronizing, threatening, or punishing actions or language.
• Harassment is a form of discrimination and either violates an individual’s human rights or may in fact violate the criminal code. This means resolution may involve the police or judicial system. This can include sexual harassment, which is any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, like: sexual gestures, obscene language, inappropriate, unwanted touch, displaying sexually charged images, and sexual content sent through technology like email, text, or private messaging.
• Discrimination violates one or more of the prohibited grounds listed in the human rights codes. Discrimination targets, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, mental or physical disability, and pardoned convictions.

No open text fields are included in a submitted anonymous report, thus there are no specific identifiers: the person submitting is anonymous, and they’re not able to name a person/s, organization, event, or facility.

Data submitted is limited to city/town options, and the general environment where the incident took place (conference, social event, 1:1 meeting, etc), and a person has the option of indicating a particular date, within a date range, or no date at all.

The anonymous data collected is strictly quantitative in nature.

The anonymous quantitative data will help leaders of the Alberta technology community to identify trends and inform prevention efforts within the Alberta tech ecosystem.

Your Record is encrypted and securely stored in REES. Only you can access it until you choose to submit it as an anonymous report. Reporting is not mandatory. You can report today or save your Record and decide later.

While you have the option to add a narrative (open text fields) to your Record, that narrative is not included when you submit an anonymous report. Only the quantitative data is included in an anonymous report. Your Record remains encrypted and only accessible to you.

Your anonymous report will be used to help gather quantitative data on any incidents that are occurring in the tech ecosystem and identify patterns of concern. For example, if multiple people attend ecosystem social events and use REES to anonymously report unwanted behaviours, that data will be used to inform preventative actions to take for similar events in the future. Anonymous reports will not initiate investigation or recourse.

As the lead sponsor of the program, the A100 will work with the Calgary-based team at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP to develop a process for sharing and communicating the anonymous quantitative data with the program partners and community to help identify trends and inform prevention efforts within the Alberta tech ecosystem.

Yes. You can create and save a Record and submit it later, or decide not to. Reporting is not mandatory and only you can access it until you choose to submit it. Some people aren’t sure if they want to tell anyone and REES provides a safe, secure space to document the incident until you decide next steps.

Online incident reporting is an important step towards helping build a safer, inclusive tech community in Alberta. We encourage you to show your support for the initiative by sharing this resource with your network.