Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre wants summer to be a safe time for children so it’s encouraging people to watch out for signs of abuse.
Dylan Rambow, communications co-ordinator with the centre, said when it comes to child abuse and neglect, typically the child knows their abuser and more than likely the abuser is a direct family member.
“Not all cases of abuse happen at home, but a lot of them do, so over the summer some kids are home with their abuser and it is really challenging. They don’t have a trusted adult they can tell,” Rambow said.
“As a community there are things we can be looking for, behaviours we can look for to help us ask questions and dig a little deeper.”
He said when children are away from school during the summer and December holidays they may not have anyone to turn to. Children in rural areas are even further away from help. That’s why the advocacy centre wants to remind people of signs of abuse to look for like big personality changes, or poorly or unexplained injuries.
“Perfectly round burns don’t typically happen.”
For more information on what is child abuse visit centralalbertacac.ca.
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He said people need to be aware that abuse can happen in their own community.
“I think a lot of people would be surprised to learn how many children in their community have probably visited the child advocacy centre.”
He said people should also find out about the policies in place at summer camps or programs to keep their children safe. They should be asking about criminal background checks, whether their child will be spend time with older children, or be alone with an adult.
“You don’t want to live life expecting the worst out of people, but it is a parent’s responsibility to know what the situations are going to be.”
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Suspected child abuse or neglect can be reported to the Red Deer RCMP Complaint Line: 403-343-5575, the Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-5437; and Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-8477.
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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