Radius Child and Youth Services tackles abuse

It’s almost too disturbing to consider. A recent national survey of 4000 students revealed staggering facts about school-related physical and verbal abuse, as well as about sexual harassment and assault. Fifteen per cent of female respondents said they had a sexual act forced upon them by another student, including oral sex or being forced to touch someone in a sexual manner. Nine per cent of male students also reported being sexually assaulted by peers. Of those who reported experiencing sexually inappropriate behaviour, a quarter of students encountered it for the first time before Grade 7. More than half experienced it for the first time between Grades 7 and 10. [i]

Radius is the only Centre in Ontario that focuses exclusively on preventing or treating the effects of interpersonal violence.  We provide specialized mental health services to children, youth and families affected by sexual, physical or emotional abuse, including neglect, intimate partner violence and human trafficking. Sexual abuse and assault cause harm, from depression and anxiety to PTSD.  Radius sees kids and families through to the end of treatment towards recovery no matter how long it takes and all at no cost to the family.

In addition to providing individual and family counseling for victims and their families, Radius also provides counseling and treatment to youth, age twelve-to-eighteen who have offended sexually. We know that by treating this population in adolescence, we are preventing future sexual abuse.

Sexual violence, even in adolescence, is a gender-based crime. While 72% of the youth who accessed Radius services for sexual abuse were female, a staggering 94% of the adolescents who have engaged in sexually offensive behaviour were male. It is sometimes easier to focus on the victims, but these young men who have hurt others need treatment to change their life trajectories. At Radius, we see these changes every day. This means that there will be fewer victims of sexual abuse in the future – this is truly prevention.   

“We’re not talking enough to our sons and it’s a problem,” says Dr. Bente Skau, Director of Clinical Services. “We don’t talk to them about healthy sexuality, enthusiastic vs. negotiated consent, or give them the tools to separate fact from fiction in pornography. Young men fill in the gaps in their knowledge with misinformation from friends or sexual scripts seen in on-line pornography when they’re left to their own devices – and we all live with the outcome”.

We invite you to have this important talk with your sons to champion positive change. Additionally, by donating to Radius, you can help victims and stop further abuse.

More than 1 in 7 girls say they were sexually assaulted by another student — but schools lack policies to help. Caitlin Taylor, Anu Singh and David Common, CBC News

Please visit. www.radiussys.ca