Saint John looks to add Child Advocacy Centre to help child victims of sexual abuse

A feasibility study is underway in the Saint John area to set up a Child Advocacy Centre, which would be a single location to provide services to child victims of sexual abuse.

Stats Canada data from 2012 finds that Saint John was one of two New Brunswick communities with the highest rate of violence against girls under 12 in Canada.

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New Brunswick also leads Atlantic Canada when it comes to sexual assaults against children.

The federal government is providing the organization Family Plus with $50,000 help with the feasibility study. The centre would bring a number of agencies involved with child sex abuse cases under one roof.

Advocates say the research shows the centres make a difference.

“It helps with the education, it helps with the community services and there’s evidence to show that there are further pursuits of going through the court system,” said Dr. Marianne McKenna, chair of the Saint John Sexual Maltreatment Committee.

“It is also said to help reduce the trauma on the child. “It really is wrap around service,” said Sgt. Dustine Rodier of the Hampton detachment of New Brunswick RCMP. “It’s like a blanket around the child. It’s child-driven as opposed to system-driven, and that is the main difference.”

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Saint John is just five years removed from the case of former city councillor Donnie Snook, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for a variety of child abuse-related offences.

New Brunswick child and youth advocate Norm Bosse says it’s “jarring” that he’s been answering child sex abuse-related questions for more than two decades.

“It’s a telling story, and it’s also an indication that communities must be stronger, must recognize the abuse when they see it and report it,” said Bosse.

Officials hope the Saint John Child Advocacy Centre can be in operation over the next two to three years.