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By Regan Tate

New study sheds light on number of students alleged to have been victims of sexual abuse by school personnel

Nov 2, 2022 | 11:11 AM

A study by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) is bringing to light the number of students who have by sexually abused or victimized by school personnel across Canada.

The study spans a five-year period between 2017 and 2021. It found that 252 current or former school personnel working in Canadian K-12 schools had committed or were accused of committing offences of a sexual nature against at least 548 students.

Over that same five-year time period, 38 personnel were criminally charged for child sexual abuse material-related offences which raises the total number of offending personnel to 290.

The discovery was made by searching disciplinary records, media sources, and criminal case law.

In cases where the gender of the victim could be identified, 71 per cent were female and 29 per cent were male. Snapchat, Instragram, and Facebook were the platforms most commonly used to facilitate victimization.

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“Canadian schools are falling behind and not keeping up with the expectations parents have for keeping their children safe in the classroom. We know the numbers underestimate the extent of the problem and yet the volume of victims is still staggering. It should concern parents, administrators, and policy makers across the country, ” stated Nona Classen, CP3 Director of Education.

Through the study, the Centre for Child Protection worked closely with Stop Educator Child Exploitation (SECE), a grassroots organization composed of survivors of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of school personnel in Canadian schools. This resulted in some key policy recommendations. They include:

• Establish fully independent bodies in all provinces tasked with receiving complaints (from the public, parents, students, and school personnel), conducting investigations, the adjudication process, and determining appropriate sanctions;
• Ensure disciplinary records are universally made public in all provinces and that the information contained in them is centralized for the purpose of policy and public interest research;
• Mandate the completion of evidence-based child protection training programs for all school personnel, including administrators in all provinces;
• Invest more in trauma-informed victim supports for students who are victimized within school environments.

To read the full report, visit protectchildren.ca/school-report