EDMONTON – The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is investigating after an 11-year-old boy told his mother he was photographed while inside a change room at Commonwealth Recreation Centre.
Police say they’re still working to determine if a crime took place. But the latest case of alleged abuse in the city has those who advocate for the prevention of sexual crimes against children speaking out.
“It’s not going away and we’ve got to address it,” said Glori Meldrum, founder of Little Warriors, an organization focused on the education and prevention of child sexual abuse.
While it may be a difficult subject, Meldrum says it’s extremely important for parents to talk to their children about sexual abuse. And that involves teaching them to use the correct terms for their body parts.
“Call their private parts by name. We’ve heard lots of instances about people calling a little boy’s private parts ‘cookies.’ Well, the kid goes to school and says ‘somebody touched my cookies,’ the teacher doesn’t know what cookies are.
“Start talking to them young. It doesn’t do any harm.”
Earlier this week, police were called to Evansdale Elementary School after a man reportedly entered the school and approached a Grade One student in the washroom. Police say the boy may have been inappropriately touched during the alleged incident.
READ MORE: Parents speak out after disturbing incident at north Edmonton elementary school
“We don’t like our kids to get hurt in any way or affected like that. And so it becomes a large piece of news and everybody needs to know how to change that or what they can do differently,” said David Jones, a detective with the Zebra Child Protection Centre.
Jones says an open atmosphere is important, so children aren’t afraid to talk about the sensitive subject.
“You want to be able to talk to them and they need to know that you love and care for them, and you’re not going to be shocked by anything they have to say.”
Meldrum agrees, adding that the majority of sexual abuse victims know their abusers. As a result, she says it’s important to teach children that not every person is a good person.
“There are people out there that will use trust and access to do things,” she explained. “Let them know that if anybody ever does touch them, and they are uncomfortable, that they need to tell mommy, daddy, teacher, whoever it is. And that they’ll be believed. That is so important.”
For more information on talking to your children about sexual abuse, visit the Canadian Centre for Child Protection’s website.
With files from Laurel Gregory, Global News.
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