A number of leading sports groups in the province will come together this week to take a stand against child abuse in sport through a full day of education and planning that advances child protection.
Led by viaSport, the Province鈥檚 lead agency in strengthening amateur sport in British Columbia, this will be the first summit of its kind in Canada and organizers hope this puts B.C. at the forefront of addressing sexual misconduct in sports.
It will coincide with National Child Day, also happening this week, and partners like The Respect Group led by former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy, the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and the Coaching Association of Canada will share their expertise to build and deploy resources to make it easier for hundreds of local and provincial sport organization to prevent sexual abuse of children in sport.
鈥渧iaSport is serious about uniting the sector to build a sport environment that is safe and inclusive for all,鈥� says viaSport CEO, Sheila Bouman. 鈥淛ust as we are seeing the impact of sexual misconduct in other industries, we know the risk in sport is real and we are committed to leading change to prevent abuse.鈥�
Looking forward to our upcoming panel discussion on protecting youth from sexual abuse in #sport with advocates @ShelKenn, @WayneMcNeil, @ltlafreniere, @Coolie_10, @sheila_bouman and @noniclassen.
鈥� viaSport (@viaSportBC) November 17, 2017
Tickets still available - register today! #safeinsport https://t.co/R4dmFXaLp9
According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, 鈥榗hild sexual abuse occurs when opportunity exists and organizations fail to pay attention.鈥�
鈥淲e know the risk to children decreases when effective policies and procedures are place,鈥� says Bouman. 鈥淥ur goal is to make it easy for sport organizations to adopt best practices around child protection by providing them with tools and training to implement change at all levels of their organization, and with administrators, officials, coaches, parents and athletes.鈥�
National Child Day marks the adoption by the United Nations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1993, the Government of Canada enacted Bill C-371, otherwise known as the Child Day Act, and designated November 20th of each year as a national day of the child in order to promote awareness in Canada of the Convention. The Convention spells out the basic human rights to which children are entitled.
