SextEd is a confidential texting helpline that answers questions about sexual health and relationships that people text us. We focus on youth in the Greater Montreal area, but anyone in North America is welcome to text and get a relevant answer. We’re not an emergency helpline, but we try to send answers within 24 hours.
Who we are
SextEd is a program run out of ACCM. It’s managed by people with years of experience in sex ed. They recruit and train volunteers to answer your questions. Each volunteer gets at least 20 hours of training, and our team carefully edits every text before we send. We’re not health professionals and our answers shouldn’t replace medical care.
We don’t…
- Give counselling, advice, or diagnoses
- Replace seeing a health professional
- Work as an emergency help line, since we can only respond within 24 hours
- Guarantee the accuracy of the information we give
But, we work to give information that is accurate, up-to-date, and supported by trusted sources.
Identity Protection
When you send us a text, we don’t see your name or phone number. We use a system that automatically encrypts your personal information and assigns a random ID. So, when we answer a question, we don’t see any information that might identify you.
In rare cases, administrators may be legally obligated to access your phone number and report it to another organization, like the police or child protective services. These may include cases where someone under 18 is experiencing abuse and cases when someone’s life may be in danger. We avoid this as much as possible. Unless we are legally obligated to do so, we will not share identifiable personal information.
Contact that you don’t ask for
We will not use the data we collect to send advertisements or unwanted answers. Twice a year, we will send you a survey if you texted in the previous year. We will also text you about major changes to the program, like closing or switching numbers.
The use of the data
We save all of our texting conversations so that we can better answer any follow-up questions people may have. We also gather certain data, namely:
- The wording of the texts we get
- Demographic information you choose to share with us (ex. age, gender)
- The area code that texts are sent from
- How long it took us to respond
- Your past exchanges with SextEd
- Any rating you give our answers
We use these statistics to apply for grants and funding for SextEd and improve our service. To increase people’s understanding of young people’s sexual health concerns and knowledge, we also work with select researchers to publish non-identifying statistics and information that can help improve sex education and public health.
How data is stored
The data is recorded and kept in a secure account that only SextEd volunteers and administrators can access. SextEd has the right to delete any data or text at its own discretion.
Our data is protected by passwords. Our volunteers are also bound to confidentiality and can only access the account through a password-protected connection. Volunteers never have access to your phone number.
Right to ban users
SextEd has the right to ban users based on our criteria for inappropriate use.
Modification of the terms and conditions
We may modify these terms and conditions from time to time, to follow the evolution of the law, the SextEd service, or both. Any modification to these terms and conditions will appear on this website.
Disclaimer
As indicated in these terms and conditions, we provide sexual health information using a reasonable level of skill and care. However, we are not health professionals and offer neither advice nor counselling. SextEd, ACCM, our volunteers, administrators and affiliates are not responsible for the information provided through our service, nor for the services and information provided by any resources we might refer you to. SextEd, ACCM, our volunteers, administrators and affiliates are not liable for any damages or loss following the use of our service.
