Winnipeg police offering free online child abuse awareness training

One in every 10 children will be sexually abused before they turn 18 according to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP). The majority of the time, victims know their offenders.

This is one of the reasons the CCCP has teamed up with the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) to offer free online training to anyone who receives a WPS criminal record check.

“It’s important that adults working with children understand the issues surrounding child sexual abuse, in order to help safeguard kids,” CCCP Director of Education Noni Classen said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's important that adults working with children understand the issues surrounding child sexual abuse, in order to help safeguard kids," CCCP Director of Education Noni Classen said.

“What the Canadian public needs to hear is that our youngest are most prolifically abused and as equally concerning is the way in which our youth are also exploited.”

CCCP operates Canada’s national tip line, Cybertip, to report the online sexual exploitation of children and sees nearly 4,500 reports each month being processed through the site.

WATCH: Noni Classen of the CCCP said the online training puts important information into the hands of people most able to use it.

0:44 New online training available to those who work with children

“While it is hard to hear, it is important to know that day in and day out, our child protection analysts see first hand the horrific abuse of children,” Classen said.

More than half of all victims of police-reported sexual assault were children under the age of 18, a Statistics Canada report shows.

“Over 90 per cent, as we know, of children under the age of 18 who have been abused, usually know their abuser,”  WPS Insp. Kelly Dennison said.

In less than two hours, program users will learn about child sexual abuse, the grooming process, professional boundaries, child disclosure and reporting. More than 11,000 people across Canada have completed this online training so far.

“This training will… help people be aware of the warning signs, the physical signs, the behavioral signs,” Dennison said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This training will… help people be aware of the warning signs, the physical signs, the behavioral signs," Dennison said.

The goal of the program is to build people’s capacity to keep children safe.

“A big part of protecting children obviously is creating a dialogue,” Dennison said.

The online training being offered in Winnipeg is part of the CCCP’s Commit to Kids program helping child-serving organizations create a safer environment for children in their care.

While the program started in 2007, this is the first time it is being offered in this way.

“Winnipeg police will be promoting it with every single individual who comes in to get a vulnerable sector screening done who will be working with children,” Classen said, adding an email will give them accessibility to the training.

The rate of violence against children and youth under 18 seems to increase as children get older. The lowest rate of violence was reported for children under three years old. After that, the rate substantially increases for each age group, according to data.