CANADA
Edmonton Journal
JANET FRENCH
Published on: June 21, 2016
School children should learn in every grade how to prevent and report sexual abuse and assault, says the board chairwoman of Edmonton Catholic Schools.
The Catholic school board voted 6-1 Tuesday to push the Alberta government to include in its revamp of the K-12 curriculum annual lessons to empower children against sexual abuse.
“(Perpetrators) say, ‘This is our secret,’ and they scare the children, and they intimidate them, and the children don’t have the capacity to know what to do, who to talk to, who to trust,” board chair Marilyn Bergstra said.
Some public schools in the U.S. are required to teach sexual assault prevention thanks to Erin’s Law. The law is named for sexual assault survivor Erin Merryn, who pushed for states to pass the law requiring school districts to teach children to “tell on anyone who tries to touch their private parts.”
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