When we talk about child abuse, we are talking about terrible things – physical, sexual and emotional abuse, and forms of neglect that leave children without the care and attention they need, a Family and Children’s Services of Guelph and Wellington County official said Wednesday morning.
Child abuse puts children in harm’s way, and has long-term consequences for that young life, said executive director Sheila Markle during a Child Abuse Prevention Month event. October is Child Abuse Prevention Month across Ontario.
About 75 people, most of them principals, vice-principals, and superintendents from the Upper Grand District School Board, gathered Wednesday morning at Lakeside Church in the countryside north of Guelph to launch the local component of the provincial GO PURPLE DAY child abuse awareness campaign. Members of the Guelph Police Service, including chief Jeff DeRuyter, also took part.
Most everyone wore purple t-shirts with “I Break the Silence” printed on the front. Together, they covered the side of a school bus with magnetic purple ribbons with the same message printed on them.
The campaign encourages everyone who suspects that a child is the victim of abuse to report to Family and Children’s Services or local law enforcement.
“The eyes of folks in the community often see things related to kids that are the kinds of things that we want to hear about,” Markle said in an interview at the event. “We want to hear from people in the community, including school personnel, who see concerns that lead them to believe that there are issues in the home, or things that kids are experiencing where we can get involved and actually support families to address those issues.”
Wellington Catholic District School Board is also participating in the campaign, sharing information in schools, and encouraging students to talk about the issue. Students and staff will also wear purple.
Martha Rogers, Upper Grand director of education, told the gathering that it takes a village to keep a child safe, and we share the responsibility to ensure their safety.
“We all do need to speak out,” she said. “If you have any reasonable suspicious, call Family and Children’s Services. That call leads to an offer of help to the family. Everyone needs to break the silence.”
Not making the call, she said, could leave a child in harm’s way.
Markle said neglect and emotional abuse are what Family and Children’s Services mostly deals with.
“It is kids not having their basic needs met, or maybe experiencing domestic violence in their home,” she said.
She said it is important to partner with school boards on the awareness initiative because boards and their schools are in a unique position to be involved with most children in the community.
Markle said child abuse is definitely preventable.
“If we know what is happening in that family then we can help them to get that support,” she said. “What kids experience in childhood does have repercussions for the rest of their lives if we don’t help families to address those things.”
Her agency helps families address the root causes of the abuse, whether that is through guiding parents to address their own child abuse history, improving parenting skills, or getting families help for mental health and addiction challenges.
Family and Children’s Services, she added, is eager to dispel the idea that it takes children from homes. In the vast majority of cases, children stay with their families.
We all have a role to play in protecting children and supporting vulnerable families by being aware of the signs of abuse and knowing who to call to help a child at risk of harm, according to a campaign press release.
To report concerns about the safety of a child or youth call 519-824-2410 or 1-800-265-8300.
