_ Stop A Bully Canada- r kids matter www.stopabully.ca backslash
Statistics September 2013 slide_pink_wrist
PINK WRIST Campaign
STOP A BULLY CANADA- STATISTICS... SEPTEMBER 2013
stop a bully canada
CANADIAN BULLYING STATISTICS
A study on bullying by the University of British Columbia, based on 490 students (half female, half male) in Grades 8-10 in a B.C. city in the winter of 1999, showed:- » 64 per cent of kids had been bullied at school.
- » 12 per cent were bullied regularly (once or more a week).
- » 13 per cent bullied other students regularly (once or more a week).
- » 72 per cent observed bullying at school at least once in a while.
- » 40 per cent tried to intervene.
- » 64 per cent considered bullying a normal part of school life.
- » 20-50 per cent said bullying can be a good thing (makes people tougher, is a good way to solve problems, etc.).
- » 25-33 per cent said bullying is sometimes OK and/or that it is OK to pick on losers.
- » 61-80 per cent said bullies are often popular and enjoy high status among their peers.
Source: Centre For Youth Social Development, UBC Faculty of Education
- 1 in 5 Canadian Teens have witnessed online Bullying
- 25% of kids between 12-15 have witnessed cyberbullying
- 25% of girls and 17% of boys have witnessed online harassment
- 51% of all teens have had negative experience with social networking
- 16% said someone posted an embarassing photo of them
- 12% said someone hacked their account
Source: Ipsos Reid 2011 Survey of 416 Canadian Teenagers
Canada Bullying Statistics and Facts:
- Punching, shoving, teasing, spreading bad rumours, keeping certain people out of a group, getting certain people to "gang-up" on others are all forms of bullying
- One in seven Canadian children aged 11 to 16 are victims of bullying
- 25% of children in grades 4 to 6 have been bullied
- Bullying occurs once every 7 minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in the classroom
- In majority of cases, bullying stops within 10 seconds when peers intervene, or do not support the bullying behaviour
- Adults who were bullied as children are more likely to suffer from depression in adulthood.
- * Between 10% and 15% of high school students are victims.
- * 11% of secondary students bully other youngsters at least once a year.
- * 31% of students say they would participate in the bullying of a young dislikes.
Source: Craig &. Pepler, 1997
Cyberbullying Statistics
* 90% of parents are familiar with cyberbullying; 73% are either very or somewhat concerned about it.
* 2 in 5 parents report their child has been involved in a cyberbullying incident; 1 in 4 educators have been cyber-harassment victims.
* 73% of educators are familiar with the issue and 76% believe cyberbullying is a very or somewhat serious problem at their school.
* Educators consider cyberbullying (76%) as big an issue as smoking (75%) and drugs (75%).
* 2 in 5 parents report their child has been involved in a cyberbullying incident; 1 in 4 educators have been cyber-harassment victims.
* 73% of educators are familiar with the issue and 76% believe cyberbullying is a very or somewhat serious problem at their school.
* Educators consider cyberbullying (76%) as big an issue as smoking (75%) and drugs (75%).
The study adds that "the most commonly experienced form of cyberbullying
is when someone takes a private email, IM, or text message and forwards it to someone
else or posts the communication publicly"
*38% of girls online report being bullied, compared with 26% of online boys.
* Nearly 4 in 10 social network users (39%) have been cyberbullied, compared with 22% of online teens who do not use social networks (all from
Pew, 2007).
is when someone takes a private email, IM, or text message and forwards it to someone
else or posts the communication publicly"
*38% of girls online report being bullied, compared with 26% of online boys.
* Nearly 4 in 10 social network users (39%) have been cyberbullied, compared with 22% of online teens who do not use social networks (all from
Pew, 2007).
Source: Microsoft's Truthyworthy Computing division
STOP A BULLY Member Schools across Canada
View STOP A BULLY Member Schools in a larger map
STOP A BULLY Anti-Bullying Pink Wristbands Distributed
View PINK WRIST Campaign in a larger map
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BLOGGED:
CANADA MILITARY NEWS: Major Reports- Statistics- September 2013-Canada- STOP A BULLY/ USA- ARC OF HOPE- Breaking the Chains of Abuse- It's Time- NO MORE BULLYCIDES
------------------------------------------
HELP LINES....
NO MORE BULLYING- NO MORE- CANADA'S STEPPING UP...
TO CANADA'S CLASSIFIED... 4 EVERY KID IN THE WORLD- whether ur 2 or 102-
we've all been there...
see u got that Inner Ninja going on- and don't 4get kids and elders are
also ur fans- u chisel ur words in stone on our hearts and bring hope from
despair 4 homeless kids and kids who have just had a shitty chance at life-
thanks Canadian son... and taps out 2 David Myles who also has Canada's flag
wrapped around his heart and soul- the Buddy Holly of Canada
Classified - Inner Ninja ft. David Myles
LINKS ON BULLYING AND CHILD ABUSE- (Mind Rape/Physical Torture/Sexual
Assault)
FOR KIDS- TWEENS-TEENS-YOUNGBLOODS- But perhaps most of all..... each
and every Canadain Adult- we must take more responsibility and be more
vigilant:
To learn more about bullying and if u r being abused- check out:
RespectED: Violence & Abuse Prevention
If you are a victim of bullying, call The Kids Help Phone at
1-800-668-6868.
-------------
POSTED:
BULLY TROLLS- Nail ya-Jail Ya- World is standing up- no more excuses- no
more abuses of our kids/ F**KING PAEDOPHILES- WE'RE HUNTING- GONNA GETCHA Sep
28 2013
AUSTRALIA...
13 child suicides in three years prompt call for action as bullying ...
May 24, 2013 - Reyelle McKeever, manager of the Child Death Register at
the ... Australia topping a list of 24 countries when it came to bullying on
social networks. ... Bullied at work Posted at 10:30 AM May 25, 2013 .... 58%
off Koh Samui getaway for 2 with daily breakfast, spa session, dinner, cooking
class & more!
--------------
BREAKING THE CHAINS OF ABUSE- NO
MORE EXCUSES
Bullying info and statistics CANADA
Don't Stand Alone
Compiled by Ark of Hope for Children these child abuse statistics have
been gathered to show the need for programs like our Don't Stand Alone - Stop
Bulling program. If you are a target of
bullying right now, or have been and still feel the pain, join us on Removing
Chains live chat survivor support. Don't Stand Alone!
We recognize that, in recent years, a series of bullying-related
suicides in the US and across the globe have drawn attention to the connection
between bullying and suicide. Too many adults still see bullying as "just
part of being a kid." It is a serious problem that leads to many negative
effects for victims, including suicide. Research is showing that there is also
a link between being a bully and committing suicide.
Some schools or regions seem to have more serious problems with
bullying, and suicide related to bullying. This may be due to an excessive
problem with bullying at the school. Unsympathetic apathy among teachers, staff
and parents at those schools definitely has had a negative effect.
Types of Bullying:
•Bullying can take many forms but it usually includes the following types
of behavior;
•Physical: hitting, kicking, pinching, punching, scratching, spitting or
any other form of physical attack
•Damage to or taking someone else's belongings
•Verbal: name calling, insulting, making racist, sexist, or homophobic
jokes, remarks or teasing, using sexually suggestive or abusive language,
offensive remarks
•Indirect: spreading nasty stories about someone, exclusion from social
groups, being made the subject of malicious rumors, sending abusive mail, email
and text messages (cyber bullying)
Cyber Bullying:
Any type of bullying that is carried out by electronic medium. There are
7 types including;
•Text message bullying
•Picture/video clip via mobile phone cameras
•Phone call bullying
•E-mail bullying
•Chat-room bullying
•Bullying through instant messaging (IM)
•Bullying via websites
Bullying Statistics are alarming;
•282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each
month
•56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at
school
•71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their
school
•Students in lower grades report being in twice as many fights as those
in higher grades. However..
•There is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level
than in the middle or high schools
•90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying
•30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying
(reported by ABC News)
•1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of
bullying
•American schools harbor approx 2.1 million bullies and 2.7 million of
their victims. (Dan Olweus,
•National School Safety Center)
•160,000 kids stay home from school every day due to fear of bullying
(National Education Association & ABC News)
•15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being
bullied at school
•1 of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of
repeated bullying
Bullying & Homosexuality:
•In a 2007 study, 86% of LGBT students said that they had experienced
harassment at school during the previous year. (Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network -- GLSEN)
•Research indicates that LGB youth may be more likely to think about and
attempt suicide than heterosexual teens. (GLSEN)
•In a 2005 survey, students said their peers were most often bullied
because of their appearance, but the next top reason was because of actual or
perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. ("From Teasing to
Torment: School Climate of America" -- GLSEN and Harris Interactive)
•According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2007
National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 students;
•Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at
school in the past year because of their sexual orientation
•Nearly half (44.1 percent) reported being physically harassed
•About a quarter (22.1 percent) reported being physically assaulted
•Nearly two-thirds (60.8 percent) who experienced harassment or assault
never reported the incident to the school
•Of those who did report the incident, nearly one-third (31.1 percent)
said the school staff did nothing in response
Lethal violence in schools related to bullying;
•Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school
shootings
•86% of students said, other kids picking on them, making fun of or
bullying them makes teens to turn to lethal violence in the schools
•87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to get back at
those who have hurt them
•61% of students said students shoot others because they have been
victims of physical abuse at home
•54% of students said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to
violence in school
•Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting
incidents
•Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as
homicide victims to have been bullied by peers
•1 out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school
Bullying and suicide;
•Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people- about
4,400 per year
•For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 attempts-
about 440,000!
•14+% high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 % have
attempted it
•Bully victims are 2-9 times more likely to consider suicide (Yale
University study)
•At least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying
(British study)
•10- 14 year old girls may be at higher risk for suicide (British study
above)
Bully-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying,
including;
•Physical bullying
•Emotional bullying
•Cyber bullying
•Sexting or circulating suggestive or nude photos or texts about a
person
Bullycide: Bully Related Suicide
•Suicide rates among 10 to 14-year-olds have grown more than 50 percent
over the last three decades. (The American Association of Suicidology, AAS)
•Consider the following bullying statistics that Ark of Hope for
Children has been able to gather;
•Suicide remains among the leading causes of death of children under 14.
And in most cases, the young people die from hanging. (AAS)
•The suicide rate among young male adults in Massachusetts rose 28
percent in 2007. (Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, in a report released
April 8, 2009)
•A new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent
connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. (Yale School of
Medicine)
•Since 2002, at least 15 schoolchildren ages 11 to 14 have committed
suicide in Massachusetts. Three of them were Carl's age. ("Constantly
Bulled, He Ends His Life at Age 11," by Milton J. Valencia. The Boston
Globe, April 20, 2009)
•In 2005 (the last year nationwide stats were available), 270 children
in the 10-14 age group killed themselves. (AAS)
Ark of Hope for Children's bullying statistical sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Suicide Prevention, Yale
University, Office of Public Affairs, WebMD
-----------------------
WINNIPEG
MacKay promises cyberbullying law
Justice Minister Peter MacKay says the Tories will introduce new
legislation in the fall to fight cyberbullying.
MacKay was at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection in Winnipeg to
make a donation to mark the birth of Prince George.
MacKay says the whole nation has been touched by the death of a
15-year-old Saskatchewan boy who was apparently driven to suicide because of
bullying.
The teen’s mother, Kim Loik, says she wants to see Ottawa bring in
national anti-bullying legislation.
MacKay says she won’t have long to wait . (CP)
--------------
O T TAWA
Teens plead guilty in Facebook escort case
Two of three teenage Ottawa girls accused of befriending other teens
through Facebook and other social media before forcing them to work as
“escorts" have pleaded guilty in a surprise about-face at trial.
Justice Diane Lahaie has ordered a pre-sentence report and a psychiatric
review of a 16-yearold girl who pleaded guilty to six charges, including human
trafficking , making and distributing child pornography and exploitation. She
is to be sentenced on Dec. 20.
A 17-year-old girl pleaded guilty to exploitation, assault, uttering
threats and breaching bail conditions.
-------------------------
So many of us are grannies and grampas.... and we still have 2
walk the talk 4 justice 4 children- which should be the norm in the year
2013. Canada... we can do better... thank u Jesus... we are having
an inquiry,.... and hunting and nailing PAEDOPHILES should not be so hard
anymore- r kds matter
INQUIRY IN2 NOVA SCOTIA HOME 4 COLOURED CHILDREN BLACK ON BLACK CHILD
ABUSE (mind rape/physical torture/sexual assault:)
Inquiry into alleged abuse at orphanage to start in spring: McNeil
CTV Atlantic
Last Updated Thursday, October
31, 2013 6:50PM ADT
NOVA SCOTIA HOME 4 COLOURED CHILDREN 1921
Nova Scotia’s new government is moving forward on an election promise to
launch a public inquiry into allegations of abuse at the former Nova Scotia
Home for Coloured Children.
Former residents of the home allege they suffered sexual, physical and
psychological abuse by staff at the facility over a 50-year period up until the
1980s.
Premier Stephen McNeil says he expects terms of reference for the probe
will be in place before the end of the year, and the inquiry itself possibly
beginning in the spring.
“It’s encouraging news. We’re looking forward to being part of that,”
says former orphanage resident Tony Smith. “To do this in such a short time,
knowing how long we’ve been fighting, really is, to us, showing us respect.”
McNeil made the comment after his first cabinet meeting Thursday
morning.
First, he plans to hear from Robert Wright, the social worker appointed
by the Dexter government earlier this year, to help form an independent panel
to address the allegations.
“The department, along with Robert Wright, have been out trying to set
terms of reference,” says McNeil. “I think they will be releasing the findings
of that committee, I think are going to be released sometime next week.”
McNeil says he hopes to have the terms of reference for the inquiry set
by the start of 2014.
A proposed class-action lawsuit is also before the courts, between
former residents and the province. A decision on whether the class-action will
go forward is expected to come down soon.
More than 130 former residents are part of the proposed suit – one the
previous government has fought to prevent from going forward.
McNeil says, as of Thursday, he hasn’t instructed the Department of
Justice to drop their objections to the lawsuit, but he has asked to be briefed
on the matter.
“I’m certainly wanting to hear from the department. This is a file that
obviously I’m going to be taking a great deal of personal interest in,” says
McNeil. “I’ve been very clear on the direction I want to go, but I think in
fairness to the department, I need to hear from them first.”
McNeil also says the former orphanage residents will notice a different
tone from his government.
Mike Dull, the lawyer representing the residents, says that leaves them
optimistic.
“Many experts say that the approach taken by the past government, by
Darrell Dexter, was not constructive and in fact harmful to victims of abuse at
the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children,” says Dull. “We’re optimistic that
Stephen McNeil and his team understands that and has listened to the experts
and is going to take a different approach.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
----------------
Bully gets Facebook probation
October 30, 2013 - 7:46pm BY MARY ELLEN MACINTYRE CAPE BRETON BUREAU
A Sydney teenager was ordered to give her social media passwords to her
probation officer after receiving a 15-month sentence on Wednesday for online
bullying. (FILE)
SYDNEY — A teenager whose attack of a school mate was videotaped and
placed on Facebook has been sentenced to 15 months’ probation.
The 15-year-old girl, who earlier this month pleaded guilty to assault,
was also ordered Wednesday to give all her social media passwords to her
probation officer.
The order wasn’t quite what Crown attorney Steve Drake had asked for
when he urged the court to consider banning the girl from all social media.
Afterwards, Drake said the youth court judge gave his request
considerable thought “and came down in the middle. It’s not exactly what we had
asked for, but it was in the right direction.”
Defence lawyer Cheryl Morrison had opposed the proposed ban, saying:
“What the Crown is asking for … amounts to a public shaming. It’s a modern day
shunning on her first sentence.”
She also objected to the way Drake described the assault during the
sentencing hearing.
He had described the assault against the victim, who has high-functioning
autism, as particularly vicious and noted that one police officer had described
the girl as the bully of all bullies.
The prosecutor noted the assault lasted just 10 to 12 seconds, but the
video showed the offender, who was then 14, punching, the victim in the face
and kicking her when she fell down.
Morrison said the reference to bully of all bullies was not only unfair
but it was also untrue.
She also said the publicity surrounding the case was a “tempest in a
teapot.”
Morrison told the judge she’s seen worse assaults involving much more
damage to the victim and the difference in this case was the fact “there’s a
videotape.”
For his part, Drake said he merely presented accurate facts and they
were not sugar coated.
The offender, whose identity is protected under the Youth Criminal
Justice Act, was also given a number of conditions, including obeying curfew at
the youth facility in which she now lives and staying away from individuals
known to have a criminal record.
Asked if he expects to see more cases where sentencing could include
social media bans or monitoring of social media activity by probation officers,
Drake suggested he wouldn’t be surprised.
“The sentencing,” he said, “is instructive for cases across the
province.”
About the Author
BY MARY ELLEN MACINTYRE CAPE BRETON BUREAU
--------------
Cyberbullying and policing the internet
A lack of physical interaction makes it hard to judge the effects of
online harassment
By Carter West
Published: 12:18 am, 28 October
2013
Vol CXXXIV, No. 08 under Comment
In the Speech from the Throne earlier this month, Governor General David
Johnston included a promise that the Conservative government will take a new,
tougher stance against cyberbullying. The forthcoming legislation is a small
part of the government’s new initiative to “restore victims to their rightful
place at the heart of our justice system.” This promise comes in reaction to a
recent slew of deaths among young Canadians, who took their own lives after
enduring various kinds of online attacks and harassment. It also raises some questions
about the preparedness of current governments to address the new problems posed
by the Internet.
There is a vague pronouncement making the rounds that the rights of
criminals in Canada are out of hand. In response to the heartbreaking stories of
teens driven to suicide after online harassment, some are arguing that the
tried and true method of “innocent until proven guilty” places undue stress on
victims waiting for resolution. The voicing of this public sentiment was
particularly loud in the case of Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17-year-old girl from Nova
Scotia who was driven to suicide after photos of her sexual assualt were
distributed over the web. Having to manage not only the scarring aftermath of a
physical crime, but also the persistent bullying by her peers ultimately
resulted in the young girl’s death.
After scattered details of the events leading to the teenage girl’s
death were revealed, it became clear that her harassers had not been brought to
justice immediately. The perceived lethargy of Canada’s judicial system led the
online activist group Anonymous to promote vigilante justice where
state-controlled justice had failed. Anonymous located those involved in her
alleged rape and harassment and threatened to post their whereabouts online.
The anger over the mishandling of Parsons’ case led to the swift passing
of stricter cyberbullying protections in the Nova Scotia legislature: victims
can now identify and sue their online attackers, or their parents if the
offender is a minor. This measure was lauded by Parsons’ father as a “step in
the right direction.”
A common analogy compares the Internet to the Wild West; the web is a
new frontier in which lawlessness is a result of rapid expansion. Governments
simply cannot keep up with the dynamism of the internet. For every new social
media application available, there is a new opportunity to abuse others.
Unknown territory, though, has, can, and will be reined in by the laws which
have been effective in the governing of normal human society. The recent forced
closure of Silk Road, a kind of illicit Craigslist where hit men could be
contracted and drugs purchased, demonstrates the extension of established legal
precedents to the digital domain.
The non-physical aspect of the Internet is where legislation becomes
more complicated. While harassment, bullying, and other crimes used to take
place in a physical space where harm is easier to identify, they have now
shifted online. The dynamism of the Internet makes tracking these events and
their effects very difficult for law enforcment. Harassing messages can be
delivered anonymously, bullying becomes more of a social activity, getting
worse every time someone new clicks the “like” button on an embarassing photo
or mean status.
Laws that allow for the identification and suing of injuring parties
will not prevent stories like that of Rehtaeh Parsons. Possible federal laws
mandating prison terms for the worst offenders will not be preventative or even
particularly restorative. When we bully online, we do not see the face of the
victim, and so have no means to contemplate their injury or the possible
consequences. Hurt and punishment have a physical dimension which typing
nastiness into a glowing box does not incorporate and so we need more radical
ways of considering internet governance. The tattoo down the arm of Rehtaeh
Parsons roughly translated to “strength and a brave air.” What better service
to her memory than adopting that spirit as we come into the age that will
determine how online society is shaped. Putting the victim at the heart of the
justice system will take time, but matters of the heart often do.
Carter West is a fourth-year student at the University of Toronto.
------------------
Teacher taped bullying student
Oct 28, 2013
, Last Updated: 10:44 PM ET
CALGARY -- After a public elementary school teacher was recorded
reducing a student to tears in class, the Calgary board of education (CBE) says
it's "taken action."
"Keep crying, 'Prince'," and "I am not a magician -- stop
making me one. Or I will make you vanish" can clearly be heard in the
audio clip, which was obtained by Global News.
The female teacher at Grant MacEwan School, in the northeast community
of Falconridge, ripped into a student who had trouble completing or had failed
to complete an assignment.
Her surreptitiously taped tirade continued even after the child's voice
can be heard cracking, crying.
"The safety of our students, including their emotional well-being,
is our paramount concern at the CBE," said a written statement put out by
Calgary's public school district.
"While we cannot comment on this situation specifically as it
involves a personnel matter, we can say that we are aware of the concerns. We
have taken action to ensure the safety of our students."
-----------------
BULLYCIDE- SAVY TURCOTTE- 13 YEAR OLD CANADIAN GIRL....
Family: Bullying may be linked to teen’s death
The family of a Regina teenager who died last week suggests the
13-year-old girl took her own life and that bullying may have played a role in
her death.
Officials have not said what claimed the life of Savy Turcotte, whose
funeral was set for Monday.
But an obituary published last Thursday asked that instead of flowers,
the family would appreciate people contributing to efforts to raise awareness
of bullying.
Turcotte’s mother, Kelly, released a statement on Saturday that says her
daughter’s diary revealed the teen had been visiting social media sites and
that there were many disturbing and hurtful comments.
The grieving mom also says parents should constantly check to see who
their children are communicating with online, and to sno op into their diaries
and journals to determine their emotional state.
She says a child could be smiling on the outside and surrounded by
friends, but on the inside they are depressed, nervous, scared, anxious and
feeling completely alone. (CP)
---------------------
Classified - 3 Foot Tall
comment:
thts wut i feel lik when im being bullied in real life :(
LINKS ON BULLYING AND CHILD ABUSE- (Mind Rape/Physical Torture/Sexual
Assault)
FOR KIDS- TWEENS-TEENS-YOUNGBLOODS- But perhaps most of all….. each and
every Canadain Adult- we must take more responsibility and be more vigilant:
To learn more about bullying and if u r being abused- check out:
RespectED: Violence & Abuse Prevention
If you are a victim of bullying, call The Kids Help Phone at
1-800-668-6868.
Aaron posted on facebook
The Girl you just called fat? She has been starving herself & has
lost over 30lbs.
The Boy you just called stupid? He has a learning disability &
studies over 4hrs a night.
The Girl you just called ugly?
She spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.
The Boy you just tripped? He’s
abused enough at home. There’s a lot more to people than you think.
Put this as your status if you’re against bullying!
----------------------
STEPPING UP AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN.... thanks 2
the real media.... 4 making this horror visual 2 the world.... these are little
girls and boys and young women.... who are being raped and kidnapped by family,
friends, neighbours....in2 a vicious life... and treated worse than an
animal.... it's just important that we never let this leave the front pages...
thank u reuters... sky... and all the great media stepping up- no more
excuses... no more abuses
Two Little Girls (shown as part of the exhibition not Natasha
See this is what our Pope is speaking of..... we need 2 focus... on this
human travesty...
INTERVIEW - Think about the prostitute: She could be your sister, says
trafficking victim
Source: Thomson Reuters Foundation - Fri, 4 Oct 2013 10:54 AM
Author: Stella DawsonMore news from our correspondents
In a file photo from 2009, a prostitute waits for clients on a street in
the outskirts of Moscow. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
TweetRecommendGoogle +LinkedInBookmarkEmailPrint
Jump down to related content
WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Sophie Hayes has a question
for men who pay for sex. “The girl who smiles at you in the brothel or on the
street, do you know what lies behind that smile?”
The 24-year-old British woman knows the prostitute’s side of the story.
She was trafficked into sex and brutalised mentally and physically by a man she
had trusted and thought was her best friend.
Hayes said she had spent an idyllic weekend in Italy with the man - her
best friend of five years. When she was packing her bags to fly home to her
office job in Leeds, he seized her passport and threatened to track down her
family and kill her younger brothers unless she sold her body for sex to pay
off his drug debts.
Terrified, Hayes stood under a streetlight from 8 at night until 5 each
morning, wearing high-heeled boots, short skirts or whatever skimpy costume her
best friend-turned-pimp handed her that evening. He hit her if she protested.
He taunted her for having sex with strangers. He hit her if her takings were
too scant. He beat her, shoved a gun in her mouth and called her stupid if the
police picked her up or if a client turned violent.
Worse than the physical violence was the mental torture, Hayes said in
an interview. It might be hard to understand why an educated young woman from a
prosperous country would not escape, but his subtle destruction of her
independent will overwhelmed her.
“It was the change that came over him that was so shocking and
terrifying, and the psychological mind games that were the worst. It was the
way that he spoke, the way that he made me feel that he is everywhere, he knows
everyone, in the police, the immigration, they are watching me. A life really did mean nothing to him, and if
I do something wrong, what are the consequences?” Hayes said.
For six months, seven days a week, Hayes said she was forced to solicit
sex in Italy and France, too terrified to disobey the Albanian man whom she had
met at a discotheque in the north of England and thought so charming and
worldly. He spoke five languages was studying law, they had corresponded for
years and she had confided in him.
Instead he was grooming her, finding details of her troubled relations
with her father and her longing for security that he would use to mentally
manipulate and control her - a technique of psychological intimidation to strip
victims of independent volition that human trafficking experts say is common to
force someone into the sex trade.
The International Labor Organization estimates that 20.9 million women,
men and children - or three in every 1,000 persons worldwide - are trapped in
forced labour and sexual exploitation in what some call modern day slavery. Law
enforcement officials said that organised crime gangs increasingly are turning to
prostitution as an easier way to make money than drugs or gun running.
The case of Sophie Hayes - not her real name because she wants to
protect her privacy in the life she has rebuilt in London since 2007- shows how
easily anyone can fall victim to sex trafficking, she said. It is a crime that
has an exotic otherness, she said. In fact it touches every nationality,
ethnicity, gender, age and class, and happens everywhere.
“This is a global crime,” Hayes said.
“It could be your sister, it could be your girlfriend, your aunty.
Everybody has a relative who could have been affected.” She told this to a
corporate business meeting in Mexico City recently, and she said they were
shocked.
Middle class and educated from a prosperous country, Hayes would never
have imagined slipping into the Albanian underworld of drug dealing, guns and
sex trade in Italy.
Equally shocking, Hayes said, was the men who were willing to pay her 20
to 30 euros ($27 to $40) for sex. Doctors, lawyers, police officers,
businessmen would line up five or six deep on weekend nights at the street
corner where she worked, waiting to pay for a 10- to 15-minute sexual encounter
in their cars, she said. “I would hop out of one and into the next.”
At times Hayes was visibly sick with pneumonia, faint from hunger,
bruised from the beatings her pimp meted out, sunken eyed from lack of sleep.
Yet she said these respectable pillars of society would solicit her.
“It’s ironic how they could pay for sex as easily as going to Starbucks
and paying for a cappuccino,” Hayes said.
MESSAGE OF HOPE
After six months, Hayes collapsed from exhaustion on an Italian street.
When she awoke in the hospital, she said she found the courage to call her
mother, who drove from England to rescue her. Meanwhile her pimp tracked her
down and while stroking her hair gently for hospital staff to see, he jabbed
his keys deep into her leg and threatened to drive a hole into her if she dared
to expose him.
Five years later, Hayes has rebuilt her life and formed the Sophie Hayes
Foundation to reach out to other victims of sex trafficking, offering them a
lifeline and a message of hope from someone who has been there. It was a
difficult road of recovery she faced, and very few professionals or law
enforcement officials knew how to help her in what was a transnational crime
that they were unsure how to prosecute. Hayes was very alone.
“Girls are so overwhelmed. Sometimes all you want is a friend, to know
you are not on your own, that there is hope, there is a future,” she said.
The foundation has just received a 10,000 euro grant ($13,543) and hired
its first counselor to work with trafficked victims. Hayes wants to expand the
foundation and hire a team of counselors to work with victims, and is using a
speaking tour for her book “Trafficked: My Story”, recounting her ordeal, to
raise awareness.
She also is educating young men about the crime, working with law
enforcement officials, and lobbying governments to criminalise the act of
soliciting sex for money.
“If you don’t have demand, there won’t be supply. If men really knew
that every time they pay for sex they fuel this chain of exploitation, would
they make different choices?”
----------------
CANADIANS STEPPING UP- 4 OUR FIRST PEOPLES, 10,000 YEARS- SISTERS-
MISSING-MURDERED
-ONE BILLION RISING- no more excuses... no more abuses..
Cross-country vigil honours 600 missing native women
October 4, 2013 - 8:14pm By AARON
BESWICK Truro Bureau
Across Canada Friday, similar events were held by the Sisters in Spirit
organization. At each vigil, a call was read for a federal public inquiry into
the more than 600 cases of missing aboriginal women and girls as documented by
the Native Women’s Association of Canada
http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1158675-cross-country-vigil-honours-600-missing-native-women
-------------------
ONE BILLION RISING-SHANIA TWAIN- breaking the chains of abuse...
IDLE NO MORE CANADA- Shania Twain was adopted by her stepfather Ojibway
Jerry Twain and grew up on the reserve as non-status indian.... Shania always
said Jerry Twain (and she adored Grandpa Twain) treated respectfully and loved
Shania's mother Sharon so much..
..... but Shania said the enormous abuse among the Reservations should
shame all of Canada.... and men need counselling and respect as much as
women...
.... our Shania Twain knew what it was like 2 grow up disadvantaged in a
'Injun Reserve attitude' and the horrific treatment of the Americas First
Peoples of 10,000 years.... and 2 be discarded like throwaway trash.... and boy
did she let the world know...
... did u know that only whites were allowed 2 enter legions.... well...
that's no surprise... but Sikhs, always First Peoples of Canada fought 4 their
lands, Blacks, Jews, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, as well as Europeans of
course.... fought in all Canada's wars.... and who can 4 get War of 1812.....
Canada would NOT be Canada without our Aboriginal- Indigenous- CANADA'S FIRST PEOPLES...
Shania Twain - Black Eyes, Blue Tears - Live!
---------------------------
Penn State to pay Sandusky child abuse victims $59.7m in settlements
School president says deals, which have been in the works since
mid-August, are a step forward for victims and the university
Associated Press in Harrisburg
theguardian.com, Monday 28 October 2013 18.14 GMT
AND..
U.S. appeals court rules no new trial for Jerry Sandusky
By Mark Scolforo The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry
Sandusky should not get a new trial after being convicted of sexually abusing
10 boys, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled Wednesday.
----------------
CANADA'S GOVERNOR GENERAL OF CANADA...
this is amazing....article kinda is all comunities, towns, and cities
telling us we must step up 4 our kids....
Teen issues focus of public forum
by Deborah Pfeiffer - Penticton - Story: 99560
Sep 30, 2013 / 7:41 pm
-----------------
OH WOW... N.S. cyberbullying
investigation unit up and running
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Published Monday, September 30,
2013 3:43PM ADT
Last Updated Monday, September
30, 2013 3:45PM ADT
HALIFAX -- The Nova Scotia government says an investigative unit created
to look into cases of cyberbullying in the province is in operation.
The province says the unit's five investigators have started work and
will begin taking calls and investigating complaints immediately.
The government says cases will be resolved using informal and legal
means, or if necessary, cases could be referred to police.
Related Stories
New 'holistic' legislation coming in the fall to stop cyberbullying:
MacKay
Cyberbullying law inspired by Rehtaeh Parsons takes effect in N.S.
Nova Scotia introduces cyberbullying legislation
Investigators can also apply for a cyberbullying prevention order, which
would order a person to stop cyber communication or the technology they are
using could be confiscated.
The unit was created following the passage of the Cyber-Safety Act
earlier this year, which allows people to sue or seek a protection order from
the courts if they or their children are being cyberbullied
----------------
BULLYING- BULLYCIDES
ANOTHER CANADIAN CHILD MURDERED BY BULLYCIDE- TODD LOIK - 15 YEARS
OLD...
Todd Loik Suicide: Came After Bullying, Says Mother
By Zachary Stieber, Epoch Times | September 26, 2013
Last Updated: September 26, 2013 11:41 am
Todd Loik, a Canadian teenager who committed suicide because of
bullying, his mother says. (Facebook)
Todd Loik’s suicide came after bullying–both in person and online–says
his mother.
The Saskatchewan teenager’s body was found inside the family’s North
Battleford home on September 9, reported Sun News.
Loik was 15.
“My son was taken from me yesterday,” Loik’s mother, Kim Loik, wrote on
Facebook Sept. 10. Todd Loik had been bullied since fifth grade, and Kim
believes she knows who her son’s tormentors are.
“This tragedy had no warning and it has really angered me at how some
people can pick on a person so much that that person feels like taking there
life is the only way out,” wrote his older brother, Ryan. “I was the one who
got in the bullies face and who tried to stop it but the fight was a endless
one.”
Kim Loik is calling for an anti-bullying law to be put into place
federally, and she wants the people she suspects of bullying her son to be
charged, reports the Battlefords Daily News.
The North Battleford City Council has been discussing an anti-bullying
bylaw, but Loik wants a federal law, because provincial laws won’t work as
well.
A Facebook page has been set up in Loik’s honor, with family members
leaving remembrances of him.
-------------
Schoolgirl Hannah Smith 'trolled to death' by bullies on Ask.fm ...
Aug 5, 2013 - Hannah Smith, from Lutterworth, Leicestershire, was found
dead on Friday after ... Thursday, Sep 26 2013 6PM 89°F 9PM 91°F 5-Day Forecast
...... 'I married at eight-months-pregnant': Teen Mom 2 star Kailyn Lowry shows
off ... Global Initiative conference He spoke in New York · Catherine Zeta
Jones and
-------------------------------
Boy, 9, found hanged 'was bullied for being white' | Mail Online
Feb 24, 2013 - White children bully other children to death, black
children do, ... Theoneoranro, Manchester, 24/2/2013 18:10 To those who red
-arrowed this .... foxy as she attends reception at the Clinton Global
Initiative in New York All in a ...
--------------------
Bullied to Death in America's Schools
Oct. 15, 2010
By JIM DUBREUIL and EAMON MCNIFF via
--------------
Bullying and Suicide
There is a strong link between bullying and suicide, as suggested by
recent bullying-related suicides in the US and other countries. Parents,
teachers, and students learn the dangers of bullying and help students who may
be at risk of committing suicide.
In recent years, a series of bullying-related suicides in the US and
across the globe have drawn attention to the connection between bullying and
suicide. Though too many adults still see bullying as "just part of being
a kid," it is a serious problem that leads to many negative effects for
victims, including suicide. Many people may not realize that there is also a
link between being a bully and committing suicide.
The statistics on bullying and suicide are alarming:
•Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people,
resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every
suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14
percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent
have attempted it.
•Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide
than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University
•A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young
people are related to bullying
•10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide,
according to the study above
•According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of
students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home
from school every day because of fear of bullying
Bully-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying,
including physical bullying, emotional bullying, cyberbullying, and sexting, or
circulating suggestive or nude photos or messages about a person.
Some schools or regions have more serious problems with bullying and
suicide related to bullying. This may be due to an excessive problem with
bullying at the school. It could also be related to the tendency of students
who are exposed to suicide to consider suicide themselves.
Some of the warning signs of suicide can include:
•Showing signs of depression, like ongoing sadness, withdrawal from
others, losing interest in favorite activities, or trouble sleeping or eating
•Talking about or showing an interest in death or dying
•Engaging in dangerous or harmful activities, including reckless
behavior, substance abuse, or self injury
•Giving away favorite possessions and saying goodbye to people
•Saying or expressing that they can't handle things anymore
•Making comments that things would be better without them
If a person is displaying these symptoms, talk to them about your
concerns and get them help right away, such as from a counselor, doctor, or at
the emergency room.
In some cases, it may not be obvious that a teen is thinking about
suicide, such as when the suicide seems to be triggered by a particularly bad
episode of bullying. In several cases where bullying victims killed themselves,
bullies had told the teen that he or she should kill him or herself or that the
world would be better without them. Others who hear these types of statements
should be quick to stop them and explain to the victim that the bully is wrong.
Other ways to help people who may be considering suicide include:
•Take all talk or threats of suicide seriously. Don't tell the person
they are wrong or that they have a lot to live for. Instead, get them immediate
medical help.
•Keep weapons and medications away from anyone who is at risk for
suicide. Get these items out of the house or at least securely locked up.
•Parents should encourage their teens to talk about bullying that takes
place. It may be embarrassing for kids to admit they are the victims of bullying,
and most kids don't want to admit they have been involved in bullying. Tell
victims that it's not their fault that they are being bullied and show them
love and support. Get them professional help if the bullying is serious.
•It is a good idea for parents to insist on being included in their
children's friends on social networking sites so they can see if someone has
posted mean messages about them online. Text messages may be more difficult to
know about, so parents should try to keep open communications with their
children about bullying.
•Parents who see a serious bullying problem should talk to school
authorities about it, and perhaps arrange a meeting with the bully's parents.
More states are implementing laws against bullying, and recent lawsuits against
schools and criminal charges against bullies show that there are legal avenues
to take to deal with bullies. If school authorities don't help with an ongoing
bullying problem, local police or attorneys may be able to.
People who are thinking about suicide should talk to someone right away
or go to an emergency room. They can also call a free suicide hotline, such as
1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Friends and relatives of suicide victims also need to find someone to
talk to as they grieve, especially if they are suffering from depression or
suicidal thoughts themselves.
Sources:
WebMD, Depression Guide, "Recognizing the Warning Signs of
Suicide" [online]
Nemours, KidsHealth, "Helping Kids Deal with Bullies" [online]
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Suicide Prevention,
"Youth Suicide" [online]
Yale University, Office of Public Affairs, "Bullying-Suicide Link
Explored in New Study by Researchers at Yale" [online]
Matt Dickinson, The Independent, "Research finds bullying link to
child suicides" [online]
Michael Inbar, MSNBC Today, "Sexting bullying cited in teen's
suicide" [online]
Susan Donaldson James, ABC News, Health, "Teen Commits Suicide Due
to Bullying: Parents Sue School for Son's Death" [online]
Erik Eckholm and Katie Zezima, The New York Times, "6 Teenagers Are
Charged After Classmate's Suicide" [online]
Related Article: OLWEUS Bullying
Prevention Program >>
--------------------
.
Saskatchewan’s Todd Loik latest teen casualty of culture of
cyberbullying
.
..By Matthew Coutts | Daily Brew – 22 hours ago.
Another Canadian teen has committed suicide after being reportedly
bullied online, causing more pain and prompting another round of demands for
change.
Todd Loik, a 15-year-old boy who had been bullied by classmates in North
Battleford, Sask., took his own life earlier this month.
His mother told the Canadian Press this week that the attacks began at
school and moved online. She said he would not let her read his Facebook page,
the comments being so vile.
Kim Loik said they were moving out of the city and back to Edmonton to
get away from the bullying, but never had the chance.
A Facebook memorial has been set up for Loik which includes, among
various calls for action and conciliatory messages, this poem:
Those beautiful brown eyes
Still visit me in my dreams so many nights
This ache in my heart, will never go away
It will serve as my reminder
of my love for you each day
Such a special soul
Filled with beauty so bright
My honor was to love you
in so many special ways
To kiss your beautiful face and watch the sun rise
To love and laugh and cry and feel
The life was so delicate and real
How did I kiss you goodbye how did I let u go
This heart will break forever
Mama misses you so.
[ Related: Sask. mom says teen son killed himself because of bullying ]
Loik's suicide is a sad reminder that we have been down this road
before.
Amanda Todd, Rehtaeh Parsons, Jamie Hubley — all Canadian teens who have
taken their own lives after being taunted and cyberbullied.
The response is the same: Calls for action, demands that something be
done.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair and Conservative minister Peter MacKay both
spoke out against bullying in the wake of Loit's death.
Thomas Mulcair
@ThomasMulcair
Deeply saddened to hear of the death of Todd Loik. Let’s work together
to fight bullying and put an end to these tragedies. #stopbullying
Peter MacKay @MinPeterMacKay
My thoughts are with the Loik family in Saskatchewan--tragic news. More
proof that cyberbullying must be addressed. #BullyingHurts
COMMENT:
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Lisa • 21 hours ago Report Abuse
We, as parents, INSISTED on being on our son's friends list (or we
simply unplugged the internet at home). We never creeped but certainly saw the
activities and we would talk about them together (what he was posting and what
others were posting to him). My son has always been a victim of bullies for
medical reasons beyond his control so we know all to well about this in our
home. But, reality is.... bullies are NOT going to change. They have been
around forever, is some shape or form and will continue. But, what WE CAN
CHANGE is how we, as parents, support our children and ensure a safe
environment for them so when they do face this type of thing, they are better
prepared to handle them. I feel for this mother who lost her child, but the
FIRST clue is that 'he wouldnt let me see the posts' should have been a major
intervention at that time....... My son is now 19 years old and as turned into
a nice, and strong, young adult studying in college now.
----------
BBC-UK
A 14-year-old Leicestershire girl killed herself after being bullied on
a social networking site, her father has claimed.
6 August 2013 Last updated at 10:03 ET
A 14-year-old Leicestershire girl killed herself after being bullied on
a social networking site, her father has claimed.
Hannah Smith, from Lutterworth, was found hanged on Friday.
Her father Dave Smith, wrote on Facebook that he found bullying posts on
his daughter's ask.fm page from people telling her to die.
Latvia-based ask.fm allows users to post anonymously. An inquest into
Hannah's death has opened in Leicester.
Writing on Facebook last Friday, Mr Smith wrote: "Just to let all
my friends know my youngest daughter took her own life last night."
'Broken heart'
He adds: "Rest in peace my baby and you will never be forgotten
xxxxxxx."
The question-and-answer site was set up by two Latvian brothers, Ilja
and Mark Terebin, as a rival to Formspring in 2010 but has now eclipsed its
predecessor.
Members can ask others questions and then get replies, which include
text, photos and videos - via its website or apps.
Ask.fm had 13.2 million daily visitors worldwide in June with each one
spending nearly six minutes on average on the site, according to internet
research firm Comscore. It said that made the social network's web domain the
79th most popular in the world.
Ask.fm says users must be at least 13-years-old to join and requires
them to provide a valid name and email address when they register, although
reports suggest younger children sneak through using fake credentials.
One of its most controversial features is the ability for members to
pose questions to others anonymously. Ask.fm's terms and conditions say members
should never use the feature to ask things that are mean or hurtful, and it
allows users to opt out of receiving anonymous questions via their privacy
settings. However, safety campaigners have said many youths do not know how to
do this.
The network also allows users to report abuse and says it may hand over
identifying information to law enforcement if necessary.
But in June, Le Monde newspaper reported the service only had 50
external moderators which it contrasted with the 30 million questions and
answers posted to Ask.fm every day.
Even so parents might wish to note that Ask.fm warns members they use
the service "at your own risk" and that it says it bears no liability
for content they might find to be objectionable or obscene.
He added: "My heart is broken in 2 and is gonna take a long time to
repair i just hope that none of you have to go through the pain im goin through
rite now [sic]."
Mr Smith has called for tighter controls to be applied to social
networking sites such as ask.fm.
He wrote: "I have just seen the abuse my daughter got from people
on ask fm and the fact that these people can be annoymous is wrong [sic]."
On a Facebook page set up in memory of his daughter, he asked people to
sign an e-petition to introduce safeguarding measures on sites used by
children.
The page now has nearly 30,000 "likes".
'Loss to understand'
The petition states: "Please sign if you would like the Government
to step in and insist that Ask.fm and similar sites help us protect our young
people. They are able to join from the age of 13 and can post
anonymously."
In a statement, Hannah's headteacher at Lutterworth High School, Nora
Parker, said: "The governors, staff and students of Lutterworth High
School were deeply shocked and saddened to learn the news that on 2 August
Hannah Smith, a year 9 student, took her own life.
"Hannah, who just completed her final year at the school and was
looking to transfer to Lutterworth College in August, was a bright, bubbly,
popular and thoughtful girl who was liked and respected by all those she came
into contact with.
"She had everything to live for and her family, who are utterly
devastated, are at a loss to understand why this has happened."
Peter Wanless, chief executive of the NSPCC, said: "This is a
tragic case where Hannah felt like she had no other option but to end her life.
"The cruel nature of cyberbullying allows perpetrators to remain
anonymous and hide behind their screens.
"This is something that must be tackled before it gets out of hand.
We must ensure young people have the confidence to speak out against this
abuse, so they don't feel isolated and without anywhere to turn."
The Department for Education said in a statement that no-one
"should have to suffer the fear and victimisation of bullying".
"The law is clear that what is illegal off-line is also illegal
on-line.
"Perpetrators of grossly offensive, obscene or menacing behaviour
face stiff punishment.
"Through the UK Council of Child Internet Safety we are working
with social networking sites and internet providers to make the internet a
safer place for a young people."
It also added that under the new curriculum children would be taught
from the age of five "how to stay safe online, and how to communicate
safely and respectfully".
At the opening of the inquest into Hannah's death, Leicestershire
Coroner's Court was told a post-mortem examination had so far proved
inconclusive.
Leicestershire Police confirmed a computer and mobile phone had been
secured on behalf of the coroner.
A spokesperson said there was no ongoing criminal investigation, adding:
"We await the coroner's verdict before making a decision on whether to
pursue that."
The inquest was adjourned until a later date.
--------------------
Rehtaeh’s parents hope to open youth drop-in centre
CLARE MELLOR STAFF REPORTER
cmellor@herald.ca
Rehtaeh Parsons’ parents want to open a drop-in centre for youth in the
Cole Harbour area who are dealing with traumatic experiences.
“Myself and Leah (Parsons) are hoping to open a centre some day soon
where we can help youth who’ve experienced the kind of trauma that Rehtaeh
experienced, and to deal with cyberbullying issues and to advocate on their
behalf," said Glen Canning.
Canning made the comments Thursday during a break at a conference in
Halifax hosted by the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre to educate people about
sexual assault and the issues surrounding it .
The Halifax centre has been helping survivors of sexual assault for 30
years. On Thursday, it launched a new campaign called Start by Believing.
Based on a program created in the United States, the campaign encourages
people to believe s exual assau lt victims when they disclose their experiences
and to believe the “prevalence and seriousness" of sexualized violence, Irene
Smith, the centre’s executive director said.
Rehtaeh died in April after she was taken off life support following a
suicide attempt. Her family alleges the 17-year-old was sexually assaulted at
a party in November 2011 and then relentlessly bu llied after a digital photo
of the alleged assault was distributed.
Canning said he decided to attend the conference as an advocate for his
daughter. He also wanted to get information that wou ld enable him to help the
large number of people who have had similar exp eriences to Rehtaeh’s that
have contacted him and her mother for help.
“I think it is imp or tant for us to be informed about how to deal with
these people and to have the right contacts," he said.
Cole Harbour currently doesn’t have a place for youth experiencing
problems like bullying and sexual assault, he said.
Rehteah liked to go to Laing House in Halifax because of its art therapy
program, Canning said.
“But it is in Halifax and she lived all the way out in Cole
Harbour."
Laing House describes itself on its website as a community-based,
peer-driven program for youth living with mental illness.
“We are hoping to make something like Laing House in Cole Harbour,"
Canning said.
“They can come in and talk to somebody if they need to, or they can come
in and have a place to relax, kick off steam, maybe a pool table, something
like that, almost like a (drop-in) youth centre."
He said he and Parsons are talking to various p eople and groups about
the project.
“We are speaking to people in government right now and we are lo oking
for s ome assistance with that and we are also doing a lot of work with private
people to see what we can work out," Canning said.
“We’ve had a lot of great interest in it." The Avalon Sexual
Assault Centre’s campaign includes posters on Metro Transit buses during Octob
er and a video on Avalon’s website. More materials will be released in coming
months.
Smith said she is really encouraged by public enthusiasm for the
campaign .
“I think that rape chant (at Saint Mary’s University) has really
mobilized the community," she said. “People are absolutely outraged that
in this day and age we have people in an institution of higher learning making
statements that it is OK to sexually assault girls and women."
More information is available at avaloncentre.ca.
We can help youth who’ve experienced the kind of trauma that Rehtaeh
experienced.
Glen Canning Rehtaeh’s father
------------------
september 28
Central Nova MP to bring in new anti-cyber-bulling law
By Rick Fleming. Last updated: 2013-09-27 05:54:38
Central Nova MP and Justice Minister Peter MacKay confirms that the
government will introduce new legislation to fight cyber-bullying in the near
future.
It will call for greater public education and Criminal Code changes.
MacKay adds that everyone has been hurt by the death of a 15-year-old
Saskatchewan boy who was allegedly driven to suicide by bullying, as well as
the Rehtaeh Parsons case in Nova Scotia.
The Saskatchewan teen's mom, Kim Loik; is one of many who are demanding
new laws to combat cyber-bullying.
-----------------------
Review of Halifax hospital in Rehtaeh Parsons case gets more time
The Canadian PressBy The Canadian Press | The Canadian Press – 2 hours
54 minutes ago
HALIFAX - An independent expert appointed by the Nova Scotia government
to review mental health programs and policies at the IWK Health Centre in
Halifax in the aftermath of the Rehtaeh Parsons case needs more time to
complete her report.
The province says the report by child and adolescent psychiatrist Jana
Davidson is expected to be finished late next month, about a month later than
it was initially due to be completed.
Davidson, an expert from British Columbia, was appointed after an
earlier report into the case raised concerns about the hospital.
She has also been asked to examine procedures within the Capital
District Health Authority and make recommendations to address gaps in treatment
and counselling services for young people who are suicidal.
Another report commissioned by the province into the Halifax school
board's handling of the case called for an independent review of the IWK.
The report said Parsons was admitted to the hospital in March 2012,
about five months after the 17-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted
and became suicidal.
Her family alleges she was sexually assaulted by four boys and a digital
photograph of the incident was passed around her school.
She died in April after she was taken off life-support following an
attempted suicide.
Glenn Canning, Rehtaeh's father, has said he would like Davidson's study
to directly address his daughter's care in the hospital, which lasted about
five weeks, because he doesn't believe she received the help she needed.
Davidson, who is the psychiatrist-in-chief of children's programs at the
Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, has said she will not
read the specifics of what happened in the case or interview people who treated
her.
At the time of her apppointment this summer, Davidson said her focus
will be more generally on treatment and counselling services for young people
and their families when there is a risk of suicide.
Kevin McNamara, deputy minister of Health and Wellness, has said there
are legal restrictions preventing reviewers from looking at specific patient
cases — even if a single case provokes the review.
The review was estimated to cost about $15,000.
--------------------------
Monsters thrive whilst angels die
PAEDOPHILES..... LOOSE AMONG OUR CHILDREN..... AGAIN!!!
Province, Lalo sued over alleged sexual abuse
THE CHRONICLE HERALD
Two more people have filed lawsuits seeking damages from the province
for alleged abuse at the hands of convicted sex offender Cesar Lalo.
The court actions, filed Wednesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, also
name Lalo as a defendant .
The former provincial youth probation officer and child welfare worker
served nine years in prison after being convicted of 34 sex-related charges
connected to boys who had been in his care in the 1970s and 1980s.
In the suits, filed by lawyer Devin Maxwell, the complainants allege
they were physically, sexually, mentally and emotionally abused by Lalo in his
office on several occasions.
One complaint said the assau lts happened when he was between 12 and 14
years of age, the other said they happ ened when he was between 13 and 15.
Lalo, 73, was assigned to one of the complainants as a probation officer
and supervised the other when his regular probation officer was unavailable,
the documents say.
Now 41 and 42, the complainants allege the Crown failed to take
reasonable care to protect them from being abused by Lalo, didn’t adequately
supervise him and didn’t take prompt and immediate action in response to information
it received about inappropriate and illegal conduct by Lalo.
They are claiming damages for pain and suffering, humiliation, mental
distress, past and future loss of income, diminution of earning capacity and
cost of care.
None of the claims have been proven in court and no defence has been
filed.
In August, the Parole Board of Canada ordered Lalo to stay in a halfway
hous e for another six months.
He was released to an Ottawa halfway house in September 2009 but was
returned to jail for six months in September 2011 when he broke a court order
by possessing pornography.
He was granted parole again in February 2012 and is under a long-term
supervision order until March 1, 2020.
-------------------
RAPE AND MANHOOD- MUSLIM STYLE
Published at2013-09-18 07:04:21
THE children were too young to know how dangerous it is to be a girl in
Pakistan. If the five-year-old girl and her three-year-old cousin had been just
a little bit older, they may have known that being alone and playing outside
are lethal risks in this country of men.
They did not know; and so, as dusk crept in and cast itself over their
neighbourhood in Lahore, they remained engrossed in their games. By the time
their families would notice they were missing, it would be too late.
What happened to the five-year-old between the time she was abducted
from outside her home and the next day, when she was found abandoned outside a
hospital, is the stuff of the most grotesque nightmare.
Unconscious and bleeding, the child found lying on a thin strip of green
lawn just outside the hospital building had been raped. The doctors who
examined her asserted that on the basis of their physical examination, she had
probably been assaulted by several men for over an hour.
She was rushed to surgery because of haemorrhaging, and when she emerged
her condition was listed as critical. The next day, television channels
reported that she was deeply traumatised, crying and screaming even when
members of her family approached her.
The utter cruelty of the case elicited denunciations and expressions of
outrage. In a country where public debate on rape cases often hinges on the
indictment of the victim long before it turns to the perpetrators, the fact
that the victim was a child managed to force attention on the brutality of the
crime itself.
The child had been too young to blame, too little to be accused of
having provoked her attackers. The usual excuses — a lack of feminine modesty,
culpable presence in the public space, a flawed character — could not be
employed here, and so, finally, the ghastly fact of the crime was before the
country.
So confronted, many grew angry; a group of female representatives from
the Khyber legislature demanded that the perpetrators be hanged. Such cries for
blood and vengeance were fervently repeated.
The aftermath of the case exposes once again the complete inability of
law enforcement and judicial bodies to deal with rape investigations. Even with
closed-circuit camera images, there was no solid identification of suspects.
A few suspects picked up by the police on Friday had already been
released by Saturday. While DNA samples were collected from the child and sent
to investigation labs, no report was available yet. There was no confirmation
about the exact number of rapists.
Amidst the legal and investigative morass surrounding the case are the
questions of how such a dastardly act can occur and how the complicity of
society can breed the sort of demons who can commit it (and probably get away
with it).
Just a few days before the child was assaulted, the British medical
journal Lancet published a new study on rape in the Asia-Pacific region.
Completed in partnership with the United Nations, the study was unique in that
it surveyed not rape victims but rather men who had committed the crime.
While the study did not specifically look at Pakistani men, its results
provide some insight into Pakistan’s situation regarding rape.
Not only were the results alarming (nearly one in four men, in the six
countries studied, reported having forced a woman to have sexual relations), so
were its findings regarding the causes.
The reasons the men listed for committing rape ranged widely from sexual
entitlement to entertainment to punishment and even boredom. Almost half of the
men reported that they did not feel guilty. More than half had committed the
crime for the first time as teenagers.
The results provide some very specific diagnosis on the Pakistani
condition. Like men in Indonesia and Bangladesh, men in Pakistan are raised
with a sense of sexual entitlement, which the study identified as the primary
motivator for sexual violence.
Seen under the lens of such entitlement, females are considered objects
for use, unable to give consent and not having the right to say ‘no’.
In the case of grown women, this core belief is cleverly hidden in
allegations of the women’s own character, her presence in public spaces, and
other such reasons.
In the case of children, the ugliness of such an assault cannot be
disguised. As the study identifies, such behaviour towards women elicits no
guilt from the men, and it starts early. All of this is only possible when
society largely supports it; society is confused about whether rape is a crime
and is unable to definitely get behind rape victims and condemn perpetrators.
The mistake made by the child at the centre of the recent Lahore tragedy
was to play outside in a society which does not consider even girl children
entitled to be in public space.
In the Pakistan where such things happen, legislatures past and present
have failed to force the stringent application of the Women’s Protection Act,
2006, and the Zina Ordinance continues to exist. In the Pakistan where such
things happen, the Council of Islamic Ideology has cast doubt over the value of
DNA as primary evidence across the board in rape cases.
When this cumulative picture of the country where the crime was
committed is considered, the only thing different about the recent case is that
she was victimised so early, subjected to a crime that is the fate of too many
women.
She cannot speak today because she is too young, but if she was older
and could speak and point to her victimisers, few in this country of men would
believe her. n
The writer is an attorney teaching constitutional law and political
philosophy. rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
--------------------------------------
Call for Yemen child marriage ban
MDG : Child bride in Yemen : Yemeni child brides celebrate their
divorces
MP urges parliament to set minimum age of marriage at 18 after death of
eight-year-old girl
-------------------
MUSLIM COUNTRIES
Hanging in shame: Pedophilia, masculinity and the media
Tahir Mehdi
Updated at2013-09-18 17:22:54
The media is reeking of blood. They want to show it live – each moment
of it. A frenzied audience has committed to stay tuned. They won’t go away from
in front of the screens as reality unfolds scene by scene.
More perplexing than the chicken or the egg ruse, is whether it is the
media that orchestrates fury within the public, or if it is the public that
incites the media into vehemence.
The widespread public outrage over the recent rape and murder of a young
girl in Delhi dissipated when the four men were sentenced to death. It was a
gratifying day. Until, news of the five-year-old girl raped by one or more
maniacs in Lahore broke, the very same day.
Whoever occupies whatever stance, the media and the public are unanimous
that criminals shall be done to death in most horrid of ways – shot in the
forehead point blank, beheaded with a jerk of sword, hanged in public and
dragged out on the roads – and all of this is demanded as if from that day
onwards no one would dare even think of committing such a heinous act.
However, there is sorry news for this audience. The crime that they
abhor does not end this way. This is one of the most strongly held yet highly
erroneous perceptions that ‘an exemplary punishment’ has a great deterring
impact on prospective criminals. Countries with low crime rate do not punish
their convicted criminals in horrible ways, and the countries that do that are
not crime free, not even in comparative sense. It is simple. And it is
universal.
China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen are the top five executioners
in the world, according to Death Sentences and Executions 2012 by Amnesty
International. China alone accounts for more executions than the rest of the
world combined. In recent years, there have been many high profile cases
punishing the financial corruption of government officials and businessmen with
death. Saudi Arabia implements death sentences in ‘the most gratifying’ of
ways: beheading. In 2012, it executed at least 79 persons or three every
fortnight. But the sheer fact that each of these countries continues to convict
and award this ‘exemplary punishment’ belies the claim that it acts as a
deterrent. Had it had any preventive effect, these countries should have
registered a steady decline in such cases.
And if you think that I am being obscure, here is what has been happening
in our homeland. Public hangings, introduced by Gen Ziaul Haq, were in vogue
all through the 1980s. The practice was ostensibly started under the popular
theme – the severer the punishment, the lesser the crime. (That the General
used his military courts and ‘the exemplary punishments’ they awarded quickly
and abundantly to actually deter political opposition, is another story.) Here
are some of the news clippings that I sifted from the library of the Human
Rights Commission of Pakistan. These pictures and news are about public
hangings in Mianwali, Gujranwala, Sahiwal, Lahore and Faisalabad between 1985
and 1988. The punishment was abandoned after the restoration of democracy in
1988 as it had resulted in no social good.-
Crimes are acts of individuals but the personalities of individuals are
shaped by societies and the acts of criminals are, in more than one ways,
connected to everyone else’s behaviors. While I do not plead for punishing the
entire society for the crime of an individual, I do not want to absolve the
society of all responsibility either. If you don’t believe in evil spirits
entering a man and turning him into a criminal, you must be curious about what
ails these perverts? But since this approach may rest some blame on us, we prefer
to stress on an individual’s responsibility and call for making an example out
of such a satanic man.
Sex based crimes are shrouded with an added layer of hypocrisy as we all
want to pretend that nothing even remotely linked to sexual problems or misdemeanor
exists in my person or within my family. I once lead a research endeavor for my
organisation that was focused on developing an understanding of gender-based
domestic violence in rural Punjab – or to be precise, understanding the
practice of wife beating. One of my most important learning was about how the
concepts of masculinity intermingles with the realities of sexual prowess that
results in gender violence. The full report of the study is available here.
--------------------
Federal justice minister meets with crime victims’ advocates in Iqaluit
Peter MacKay listens to Nunavut priorities for a victims bill of rights
PETER VARGA
Federal justice minister Peter McKay, with Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq and
senator Dennis Patterson in Iqaluit, on Sept. 17 opens a meeting with justice
advocates in Iqaluit as part of a nation-wide tour to discuss priorities for
the creation of a victims’ bill of rights. (PHOTO BY PETER VARGA)
Canada’s justice minister, Peter MacKay, visited Iqaluit Sept. 17 with a
specific goal: to get a Nunavummiut perspective for the government’s planned
victims bill of rights.
To that end, MacKay met with a group of victims’ advocates in a closed
session Sept. 17, as part of a nationwide fact-finding mission for the bill,
whose purpose is to protect the rights of crime victims as their cases work
through the justice system.
The meeting is one of 15 MacKay has scheduled across the country since
July, with the aim of creating a system “that is more and more inclusive and
respectful of victims to give them a more effective voice in the Canadian
justice system,” he said before the closed session was to start.
The government will introduce the bill in Parliament this fall.
Usually through no choice of their own, victims of crime are swept up in
legal processes they do not understand, MacKay said.
At the start of the whole process, many victims already feel overwhelmed
and traumatized by the crime they endured, “and so the need for inclusion, for
information is very important,” he said.
Nunavut and the North overall has “specific challenges” that the
government will have to consider, he said.
These include vast distances between communities, which complicate
organization and timing of trials. Trial delays, caused by staffing shortages
as well as great distances, are also a big issue, he admitted.
“Evidence is sometimes not properly preserved, [so] there’s continuity issues that pertain
to evidence in a courtroom,” MacKay said.
Yet MacKay said he could draw some similarities between the North and
small towns where victims can easily come face to face with their offenders —
which signals a greater need for collaboration with the court system.
“Victims want to know in some cases how the offender is doing, when
they’re going to be released, what programs has the offender availed themselves
of, what are the chances that they’re going to run into this person again,” he
said. “There’s a very good chance you’re going to run into that person, upon
[their] release.”
MacKay said the current government has put $120 million into victim
services programs across the country since 2006 through the Department of
Justice, some of them tailored for programs in the provinces.
On the other hand he cautioned that “we’re living in a time of fiscal
restraint as well, when there are budget restrictions everywhere.”
“It’s a very fragile global, let alone national economy,” he said. “So
we’re working for efficiencies as well.”
==================
MacKay talks tough about crime
Darrell Darrell ColePublished on September 18, 2013
AMHERST – Nova Scotia’s cabinet minister says his government is
committed to keeping Canadians safe in their homes and on their streets.
“Canadians expect the justice system to keep them and their families
safe. Our government is also committed to helping you protect all Canadians by
tackling crime and restoring confidence in the justice system,” federal Justice
Minister Peter MacKay told a meeting police chiefs and police boards in Amherst
over the weekend.
MacKay said the government has strengthened many areas of criminal law
during its mandate to create new offences and give police the tools to better
investigate crimes and protect Canadians more effectively.
“No more soft on crime,” he said. “Our criminal justice system was going
in the wrong direction, focusing more on the rights of criminals than the
rights of victims. We committed to change.”
The minister said longer jail sentences for serious crimes are keeping
criminals off the streets. He said government’s approach is “tough, yet
balanced.”
Among changes it has proposed are involving victim participation in
conditional release hearings, increasing offender accountability and
authorizing police to arrest an offender who appears to be violating release
conditions without the need for a warrant.
Cyberbullying, he said, continues to be a priority.
“This crime is not like the bullying we knew as children. It goes far
beyond what is endured in the schoolyard. With the press of a button, a person
can be victimized before the whole world,” MacKay said. The cyberbully can hide
behind technology, but the damage to the victim can remain in cyberspace
forever. While just a moment of bullying can be traumatic, forever is
irreparable.”
Government is also getting tough on repeat impaired drivers and MacKay said
he understands the frustration of police in arresting the same offenders over
and over again – “sometimes after have killed or injured someone.”
MacKay said the government also stands for victims rights and is working
to create the Canadian Victims Bill of Rights, something Cumberland Colchester
Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong briefed officers about during the
conference.
“We’ve heard that victims want the system reformed to include them in a
more substantial way,” MacKay said. “They want to understand what is going on
around them throughout the process, and what their rights in the process are.”
The minister told those in attendance that the federal government is
committed to getting tougher with child sexual offenders by making them serve consecutive
sentences as opposed to concurrent, while also increasing the minimum and
maximum sentences for these offences
--------------------
PAEDOPHILE ALERT/PAEDOPHILE ALERT/PAEDOPHILE ALERT
Dartmouth man to stand trial on molestation charges
October 30, 2013 - 5:42pm BY STEVE BRUCE COURT REPORTER
A Dartmouth senior has been committed to stand trial on charges of
molesting two boys.
A preliminary inquiry for Alan Harvey Shrum, 66, of Esson Road wrapped
up Wednesday in Dartmouth provincial court.
Shrum was ordered to stand trial in Nova Scotia Supreme Court on two
charges of sexual assault and single counts of sexual exploitation, sexual
interference and making child pornography.
The Crown alleges that the offences were committed between 1993 and 2007
in Dartmouth and other places in Nova Scotia.
The identities of the complainants are protected by a publication ban.
Shrum will appear in Supreme Court with lawyer Patrick MacEwen on Nov.
21 to begin the process of setting dates for his trial, which will be by a
judge alone.
Shrum remains free on an undertaking, with conditions to stay away from
parks, playgrounds and other places frequented by children and to have no
contact with anyone under the age of 16 unless a parent is present. He also is
banned from using the Internet except for work.
(sbruce@herald.ca)
-------------
uk
RCMP turn to social media to find suspect in child sex abuse
Calgary Herald - ?18 minutes ago?
The RCMP is asking for the Canadian public's help in identifying a man
seen on an Internet video sexually abusing a little girl.
-----------------------------
uk
Canada-wide 'oral tradition' that glorifies rape targeted by UBC
president
The Globe and Mail - 15
minutes ago?
An investigation at the University of British Columbia has found that a
frosh chant celebrating rape was part of an “oral tradition” that goes back
years and is practised at other universities and high schools in Canada.
--------------------
HUNTING F**kING PAEDOPHILES.... LOOK AT THIS WOMAN.... 13 year old
kid.... God.....it gets soooooo tiring....
Global News
24-year-old Kelsea Hepburn is now on the national sex offender registry
for life after an illicit relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Initially, she
was to remain on the registry for just 20 years.
--------------------
--------------------
ABUSED CHILDREN'S HEALING MONUMENT-
TORONTO- CANADA
Canada Child Abuse Healing Monument- the quilts- Martin Kruze - We
Remember - 2 honour those who survived horrific child abuse and paedophiles-
and those who did not.... Martin Kruze ("Iwas a Paedophiles dream")
little boy who loved playing hockey at Maple Leaf Gardens- commited suicide 3
days after horrid 2 year sentence of paedophiles who abused 80 little boys who
just loved hockey..... We remember Martin... here's to the One Billion Rising-
around the world- breaking the chains- no more abuses and - no more damm
excuses.... Canada's stepping on up hard...
Martin Harold Kruze who told the story of his horrendous abuse at Maple
Leaf Gardens- COMMITED SUICIDE- at tender 23 yrs of age- AT THE LITTLE BIT OF JAIL TIME THE PAEDOPHILE
MONSTERS GOT.... Dr. Michael Irving built the ONLY.....Children's Abused
Surviivors Healing Monument- which is in Toronto, Ontario- Canada
Martin Kruze- I was a Paedophile's Dream- young hockey player- 3 days after
PAEDOPHILE'S 2 YEAR VERDICT- young
hockey play Martin Kruze was so distraught = he commited suicide
Martin Kruze on Reaching Out Child Abuse Monument- TORONTO, CANADA
-------------------------
