FREDERICTON – There is a new biker club in New Brunswick helping support child victims of abuse.
Bikers Against Child Abuse – BACA – has launched its first chapter in Fredericton.
“We want to give them the ability to not fear the world they live in,” said a member known to the kids as ‘Sunshine.’
“We all have road names because what we do is so sensitive we like to keep out identities private.”
The motorcycle club was started in the U.S. about 20 years ago by a child therapist. Their mission is to help protect victims of child abuse.
“Physical, emotional, sexual, mental any kind of abuse and child pornography,” said Sunshine.
According to the founder of the New Brunswick chapter, Hillbilly, one in five girls and one in six boys under 12 are abused in Canada.
“Government services have cut back over the years and it’s like we just try to fill in the void,” he said.
There are chapters of these child protectors all over the world, but this is the Maritimes’ first club.
“We set two people for that child that that child can call 24-7 if they are scared or if they need anything,” he said.
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“We had a child who was afraid to go to the pool here and we had two members escort the child to the pool so the child could go swimming. Just be a kid.”
Each member has to go through a rigorous criminal and vulnerable person check and is finger printed before they are even considered to be crested.
“Social services, police, family court we have spoken to a lot of those agencies already and they are on board with our program,” said Sunshine.
When asked why they do it, even the burliest of members are overcome with tears. Some are survivors of abuse themselves.
“We adopt them into our family and our goal is to let a kid be a kid. A lot of abused kids don’t feel safe and generally with a guy looking like me and the rest of them the kids are great,” he said.
“The statement that we are scarier than the abuser has been used a few times and that’s what gives them the comfort that they are looking for.”
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