THE BATTLEFORDS — Almost two months after the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education announced that third-party sexual health organizations would no longer be allowed in the province's classrooms beyond one-on-one counselling, some are standing up.
Battlefords and Area Sexual Assault Centre (BASAC) — one of three sexual assault awareness organizations that released a statement last week — say that they're being unfairly lumped in with sexual health educators and that the third-party ban risks the safety of students.
“Sexual violence is not what you see on Law and Order SVU. We're not worried about strangers in an alley with a knife, right? We're trying to teach kids that boyfriends are luring their girlfriends into human trafficking and sex trafficking,” Amber Stewart, BASAC's executive director told the News-Optimist as she spoke about their programming.
Stewart said that BASAC used to provide education to kindergartners, and up to higher grades in an effort to teach them about body safety, good versus bad secrets, boundaries, unhealthy relationships, and other concerns like human trafficking, calling body parts by their anatomic names, pornography dangers, consent and the dangers of sexting as a minor.
“We know we have high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and all of this stuff [high rates of pornography viewing in Grades 5 and 6 and high rates of sex trafficking] is related to gender-based violence,” Stewart said.
“We could go set up at the library, or our office here, and the concern was — those parents that would bring their kids to those things, are not necessarily the kids and parents that we're concerned about not getting information.
“It's child abuse prevention, is really what it is.”
In light of recent demonstrations in the Battlefords which were focused on 'protecting parental rights,' and, 'standing up to indoctrination in schools,' Stewart says that there needs to be more clarity around what BASAC does in the Battlefords.
She added that BASAC does not provide sexual health, educate on STIs or talk about contraception. When it comes to gender, the organization explains some untrue stereotypes to children ranging from the idea that boys shouldn't cry, or that girls are supposed to be polite. In an earlier statement, Stewart was clear that the BASAC has always followed the curriculum and offered parents the opportunity to opt-out their children.
“I would say, it's totally outrageous. And again, we are not delivering education on sex, right? And so we really feel like we should not have been lumped into this,” she said, noting that the policy was too vague and shouldn't include BASAC.
“I have heard that it is the name of our organization, that is an issue for people because it has sexual [in the name] ... I would push back and say like, if that's an issue for you, then you maybe need to look inside of a why that is an issue for you.”
The Controversial Change Affecting Students in Saskatchewan
“I honestly don't think the ministry put a lot of thought into the broad reach that this policy would have, and the impact it would have on others," Stewart said, noting that she's spoken with the Minister of Education.
“What I was told was, 'That's why we're trying to pass this bill so that we can then work out the rules and regulations,' where I think the rules and regulations probably should have been worked out before a policy was introduced.
“I also would say if you're going to speak to education, what should be in education, what should be in the curriculum, what should be happening in our schools, you should have some experience and knowledge about what the reality is.”
When asked why she thinks the Government of Saskatchewan has been pursuing this policy change, she blamed the recent loss of two Sask Party seats in provincial by-elections where the NDP gained two seats in Regina —12 days before the new policy was announced on Aug. 22.
Stewart also noted that social media is not helpful as a lot of rhetoric surrounds the policy, confusing people who may have good intentions and making them believe things are happening in the education system that Stewart says simply isn't reality.
“If people really cared about protecting our children, we would want to be arming our children with all the knowledge and all the information to protect themselves. And we are taking that away. I know that speaking with colleagues of mine, our fear is, what's next?” she asked.
“Are they going to remove sexual health right out of the curriculum? Are they going to tell us what we can and can't speak about ... I wish that all parents were safe parents, but that's just not the case.”
Moving forward: BASAC's next steps
And beyond the danger it may pose to students, Stewart said BASAC and the Ministry of Justice which provides BASAC with approximately $240,000 annually were blindsided by the change.
“I contacted my program coordinator with the Ministry of Justice who funds us, they had no idea this was happening ... So they have no answers. The school divisions ... they had no idea. So everyone was just sort of like, we don't know, so no, you can't be in [schools]," Stewart said.
“Third parties remain an important part of the K-12 education community, including sexual assault centres who continue to provide services such as counselling,” reads an email from the Ministry of Justice.
“The CSWN [Community Safety and Well-being Branch within the ministry] is actively working to support the policy direction of government alongside its community partners,” the ministry added, noting that they're working with community parents to ensure everyone understands.
But Stewart noted they were booked up until January at Jean Paul II Collegiate, McKitrick School, and North Battleford Comprehensive High School, and that their absence may prove challenging to students.
“While we're getting creative, we have awesome partnerships with Big Brother Big Sisters, as we are supporting them with the youth forum ... we are doing some programming in some schools in the surrounding First Nations communities,” Stewart said, explaining some possible ways to reach children outside the classroom.
“To the kids and the youth, I would say, we are still here. You stop by, phone us, whatever you need to do, we have not forgotten about you. We're still here," she said.
"To the parents and to the community, I would say, we need to be phoning our school divisions, we need to be phoning our MLA, we need to be phoning the Ministry of Education,” she added.
“For a long time the small, loud people have been getting their way, and it's time for everybody else to find their voice. Right is right and wrong is wrong. And this policy is wrong.
“We just feel attacked, we feel alone, we feel scared for our organization, we're worried about the kids in the schools that aren't getting this information,” she said, as they hope they'll be able to return to schools soon.
A Perspective from Living Sky School Division
But that isn't certain.
“We did clarify last week that BASAC would be able to come and work one-on-one with students, of course with parental consent under the age of 16,” Tonya Lehman, Deputy Director of Education told the News-Optimist/SASKTODAY.ca
“That was a real concern for us ... we're happy that's a continuation so that students are getting that individual support.”
Living Sky School Division was not able to say whether or not they agree with the directive coming down from the ministry, as sexual assault awareness organizations like BASAC fall under the wide ministry's umbrella of sexual health.
“That's always our goal [supporting the students the best we can] we really care about the health and well-being of our students and we are trying to do our very best to understand what limitations we have and how we can best support that extremely important learning that happens in our schools.”
Lehman noted that parents and families have always been a part of the conversation at LSSD and they will continue to be their parents moving forward. LSSD is currently working alongside the ministry and school division so that they're clear on the limitations put on school boards across the province.
“There is still some work to be done in this area but at this time the procedures that we currently have, currently still being implemented, and we're looking to see if any change needs to be made.”
When asked if teachers could expect to be overworked now as they've expected to provide sexual health education on top of rising division numbers and concerns about finding new teachers, Lehman said they are working to support teachers as necessary.
“That's [third party ban] a directive that we have and of course, we are required to follow but I think that we're always looking at what's best for kids,” Lehman said when asked if BASAC may be allowed in schools in the future, noting that it might be a better question for the government.
A Perspective from the Ministry of Education
Minister of Education Jeremy Cockrill (MLA for The Battlefords) told the News-Optimist/SASKTODAY.ca over email that he's spoken with Stewart at BASAC regarding her concerns and has committed to continuing the conversation with her.
"Third parties remain an important part of the K-12 education community, including sexual assault centres who continue to provide services such as counselling," he said.
"However, as announced in our policy in August, we paused outside third-party organizations presenting sexual education materials in the classroom," he said, adding that does not include professionals employed by government ministries or the SHA.
"We believe that an important relationship exists between students, parents, and teachers, and that is not always the case with third-party organizations."
Cockrill said that the reinstatement of third-party organizations presenting sexual health material in the classrooms will be looked at through the regulatory process.
"At the heart of this policy and the resulting legislation is a desire to ensure that parents have the right to be involved in important conversations and decisions about their children and their children’s education. We fundamentally believe that parents should be involved, and this policy and legislation achieve that."
