Province first to put Kennedy’s anti-child-abuse program into schools

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/02/2012 (5359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province is rolling out an anti-child-abuse program in schools that Sheldon Kennedy helped create to protect children in sports from the kind of abuse he suffered at the hands of disgraced junior hockey coach Graham James.

Manitoba is the first province in Canada to take the Respect in Sport program into schools.

The former National Hockey League player who is known for his profile to combat child sex abuse was among the dignitaries at a press conference to announce the initiative with Education Minister Nancy Allen and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson in his role as Minister of Sport.

Kennedy is best known as the first victim of convicted pedophile Graham James to come forward and make his abuse public.

Respect in Schools is a two-and-a-half-hour online program. It uses a series of vignettes that show adults how to spot signs of abuse, bullying, harassment and neglect in children. It then instructs them in the language that can help them respond to children in trouble.

Kennedy said 25,000 adults who work with kids in dozens of sports in Manitoba have already been trained in the program in the last six years through Sport Manitoba. It is also available in parts of Alberta and in London, Ontario.

The province is channelling $300,000 over three years to make the program available through school divisions. Any adult in the school system can take the program through their school divisions, whether they are administrators, teachers, teaching assistants, parents who work with recreational activities or bus drivers.