The Federal Government Needs to Address More Issues in the Fight Against Child Sexual Abuse
- Target:
- The Federal Government of Canada
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- www.aasac.ca
The federal government is already looking into, and may be changing, the laws that allow sex offenders to receive pardons after serving their sentences, but there is more work that needs to be done to fight child sexual abuse across Canada.
It is known that one in three girls and one in six boys will experience some form of sexual abuse before age 18 – however, the last trans-Canadian study done on this was in 1984, and we currently rely on micro-studies, and US figures to understand the issue. We desperately need our own statistics to better understand the issue and how it affects Canadians.
Only 6-8% of sexual abuse and sexual assault cases are ever reported to the police. Of those reported, only ¼ result in convictions. Incarceration times for sex offenders are also very low – most sexual assault sentences are 2-3 years or less. Most child sexual abuse cases result in even shorter sentences.
All communities require access to counselling and education services for those affected by sexual abuse. By educating all members of a community, we can create safer environments for survivors of abuse to be able to tell their stories. Sexual assault centres are significantly underfunded, and can rarely meet the needs of their communities. Rural communities are particularly vulnerable, because there are often no services available. Education of community members of all ages is vital in order to help them learn to identify sexual abuse, and to know what to do if they are affected by it.
There are little to no comprehensive treatment programs available across Canada for sexual offenders. That must change if we have any hope of stopping the pathological behavior of offenders.
The Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Centres and its member agencies have created a comprehensive prevention approach which requires strong governmental and community support in order to see any real change occur in rates of child sexual abuse in Canada (www.aasac.ca).
We, the undersigned, urge the Government of Canada to spearhead the fight against Child Sexual Abuse in Canada by taking the following actions:
1. Review not only the pardons system, but also the current criminal justice system legislation and sentencing for sexual abuse and sexual assault
2. Provide additional funding to support research as well as prevention strategies at all levels of society
3. Support comprehensive, effective, and tested Canada-wide sexual abuse education programs for children throughout their pre-school, primary, and secondary school career
4. Fund accessible parent education in urban and rural areas
5. Provide national guidelines for professional training on this topic for teachers and others who work with children and families
6. Issue Canada-wide media campaigns to raise awareness in the broader community
7. Issue Canada-wide media campaigns directed at offenders
8. Fund comprehensive and accessible treatment for those impacted by child sexual abuse
9. Funded comprehensive and accessible treatment for offenders
10. Consider the needs of rural and remote communities in policy, funding, and service development decisions.
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The The Federal Government Needs to Address More Issues in the Fight Against Child Sexual Abuse petition to The Federal Government of Canada was written by ASAAC and is in the category Government at GoPetition.