November 19 is World Day for the Prevention of Child Abuse. It's a great opportunity to highlight the work of two students from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, who are educating young people to know what is abuse, how to get help if it happens to them and how to prevent it.
Ashley Smith-Clark and Chelsey Healy are social work students. As part of their placement with the Canadian Red Cross RespectED violence and abuse prevention program, they are giving presentations called It's Not Your Fault in area schools this fall.
Between the two of them, they've presented some 60 times, to grades 7-8, in Fredericton, Hampton and Sussex, reaching in the process well over 1,000 students.
They focus on the different forms of abuse, neglect and even talk about online exploitation, such as being solicited on the Internet, which is something many young people report having experienced.
Child abuse doesn't necessarily make headlines the way bullying does, but it's just as harmful. In fact, perhaps this lack of awareness is what's been most eye-opening.
According to Ashley and Chelsey, students within a same class often have very different perspectives on this issue. Some students have disclosed having been personally affected by abuse, while others are shocked that this could happen in their community.
"Our goal is not to scare young people, but rather to be honest with them and make sure they have the information they need," says Ashley.