Are you Counting on Elected Officials to Keep Kids Safe?
Question for Candidates:
“Knowing that child sexual abuse is the most prevalent health problem children face with the most serious array of consequences, what do you have in place to prevent child sexual abuse in our region?”
It’s election time in Nova Scotia. Can I count my frustrations?
Lack of access to midwifery. Still.
Lack of female representation in government. Still.
Lack of diversity. Still.
Poverty. Homelessness. Human rights violations.
Deep breath.
Okay. Focus on the good. Right?
Those of us who are advocating for change may understand my struggle. There are so many things that I would like to see changed, it can easily become frustrating. Overwhelming. Disheartening.
Is it just me?
I want to think happy thoughts while I'm running errands… but when I see a campaign sign with a standard white man smiling at me, the first question I ask is, what are you doing to help make things better, and why aren't you supporting a female candidate?
And that’s where the spiral begins…
And because I am empathetic and understanding, I get it. This 50 year old guy probably doesn’t have anyone in his life who is saddened and frustrated because women in my region still can’t access midwifery and home births.
He probably doesn’t have people sharing stories with him about how difficult it is to recover from sexual violence, how they’ve been mistreated, misunderstood, misdiagnosed.
I know I am deep into ASSUMPTIONS, and assumptions are always dangerous.
But how does a man who is aware of the needs of the people decide to run for politics when it is so OBVIOUS that we need more women in leadership and decision-making roles? There is enough evidence from around the world that communities, organizations and companies thrive when women are represented in leadership roles, .
Again. Another BIG assumption.
I do this all the time. I went and ASSUMED that government’s role is to fix our culture.
I have a tendency to make the same mistake multiple times. I reassure myself that making mistakes is how I learn.
But I have a feeling that this mistake is widespread and intergenerational.
Maybe it is unique to Nova Scotia. Maybe not.
But when I learn about our history, I am often struck by a pattern that shows up in many historical accounts.
I noticed it when I read the book, the Nova Scotia BLACK EXPERIENCE Through the Centuries by Bridglal Pachai (2007).
I noticed it when I read an account of my own ancestors in, Children of the Hector By Pamela Edwards and Ann Louise Stevens (2020).
I hear it when I read letters to the editor, listen to the news, and when my own thoughts turn to the government as a solution provider.
It seems to me that since the beginning of the settlers arrival in Nova Scotia, there has been an ongoing theme.
Crown/Government leader makes a promise to provide something of comfort/value/necessity to the people.
The people accept the offer.
Crown/Government is not able/willing to fulfill promise.
People never give up hope that the Crown/Government will one day, somehow, maybe with our help, finally fulfill the promise.
Do you see the pattern?
Black Loyalists were invited to fight with the British in exchange for freedom and land. But ‘oops’ only infertile land. And it has to be surveyed by a British representative. And there is only one in the province. And he’s busy surveying the fertile land for the wealthy white people. And today we are STILL dealing with the legacy of that unfulfilled promise.
We are still spending time and money trying to get the government to do what was promised.
My ancestors purchased tickets from Scotland to Pictou that were meant to include cleared land and provisions to help them survive their first year in this new-to-them land. But ‘oops’ the land wasn’t cleared and the provisions didn’t exist.
Wait a minute… this sounds like my elementary school history lessons when I was growing up in Alberta and learned about the Ukrainian immigrants that were invited to claim large swaths of land for free… and then when they arrived on the prairies (if they made it that far) they were faced with all kinds of ‘hidden fees’ and challenges that rendered the offer a lie.
And how about those treaties that are STILL unfulfilled and the people who say things like, “it was so long ago, these treaties shouldn’t even count”. As in, nobody was ever going to honour the treaties, and now that enough time has passed, we should just pretend they never existed.
Do you see the pattern?
The government is not going to lead us to a better, safer, healthier way of life.
And yet I keep hoping they will!
It’s so deeply rooted in me. This generational and historical habit of being enticed by promises and then committing our energy to helping leadership fulfufill it’s promise. Despite the evidence.
This is why I created Priority Kids, a training and advocacy company with a mission to eradicate child sexual abuse.
This is why I write these blog posts.
It's why I take personal responsibility for keeping my kids safe from sexual abuse, and why I spend time each day focused on helping my community keep all kids safe from sexual abuse.
I do not believe that government is going to take the lead on keeping kids safe from sexual abuse. But I do believe that we, the people, can successfully protect children. And when we do, the government will eventually follow our lead.
We can learn the facts about child sexual abuse. We can minimize the risk. We can talk about it with each other and with children. We can recognize the signs. And we can react responsibly.
We do not need the government or our elected officials to do anything for us to keep kids safe from sexual abuse.
This is on us.
BUT… if you do run into a candidate who wants to woo you. Feel free to copy and paste this statement/question:
“Knowing that child sexual abuse is the most prevalent health problem children face with the most serious array of consequences, what do you have in place to prevent child sexual abuse in our region?”
And if the candidate does not have a rehearsed response, or what they say is garbage, I invite you to refer them to our free monthly webinar where we go over the simple and effective practices that we can utilize to keep kids safe from sexual abuse.
Because I just can't help myself. Maybe if our elected officials understood the risk of child sexual abuse, and the cost to our community... just maybe they would take action to do something about it.
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Where to get help in Nova Scotia
Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868
Angela Johnston is CEO and Lead trainer at Priority Kids, a training and advocacy company on a mission to eradicate childhood sexual abuse. Angela coordinated a 2-year provincial project to implement a sexual violence strategy among 20 community organizations. In 2015 she was appointed to the Provincial Public Awareness Committee which produced an award winning awareness campaign. Angela has received recognition from the Province of Nova Scotia for her entrepreneurial leadership and innovation for helping to build a better future for the province
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