Over 500 students in Canada are victims of sexual abuse by school personnel: report

More than 500 students in Canada have been sexually victimized by school personnel over a five-year span, according to a new report.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P), a charity dedicated to reducing child sexual abuse, released the data on Wednesday.

The key findings provide a bleak look at children’s safety in Canadian schools.

Our new report found 540+ students were sexually victimized by school personnel over the past 5 years- those are only the ones known publicly.

Survivors are demanding change from gov’ts across Canada to protect kids in a place they should be safe. https://t.co/OguGsRlaFs

— Protect Children (@CdnChildProtect) November 2, 2022

According to the C3P, 252 current and former employees working in elementary and high schools committed or were accused of committing sexual abuse against a minimum of 548 students between 2017 and 2021.

Over that time period, an additional 38 personnel were criminally charged for child pornography-related offences.

The data shows an increase in sexual abuse reports since the last study released in 2018.

When the gender could be identified, 71% of victims identified as female and 29% male.

The report says the vast majority of cases for both female- and male-identifying students were in high schools.

It found that 86% of the offenders were teachers and that 74% were known to have coaching positions at schools.

The report says this secondary role “provided them with further access to children.”

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Social media also played a big role in these offences.

Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook were the platforms most commonly used to facilitate victimization, according to the study.

These findings come from a review of disciplinary records, media sources, and criminal case law.

C3P teamed up with a grassroots organization compromised of survivors of sexual abuse at Canadian schools calling for government action.

“As children, we had no voice and no power; school administrators and adult bystanders failed to protect us,” said a member of Stop Educator Child Exploitation (SECE) in a statement.

“As adult survivors, we feel strongly that we must speak out on behalf of current students.”

SECE recommends the government establish independent bodies that investigate sexual abuse complaints in schools, make disciplinary records public across the country, mandate child protection training programs, and invest in trauma-informed support for victims.