Sex offences against Calgary children have increased during the pandemic

Sarah MacDonald is a forensic interviewer who deals with young victims and their stories of sexual abuse.

Asked to describe what that's like, she was guarded in her response.

"I talk to children as young as three years old, all the way to 17- and 18-year-olds," said MacDonald, who works at the Luna Child and Youth Advocacy Centre in Calgary.

"And I think we all have an understanding that this work is tremendously difficult."

Not only is it difficult to hear stories of sexual abuse from children, but more victims have been coming forward over the past two years to report being a victim of a sexual offence.

Calgary police say the most recent crime stats show the number of youth victims through to the end of September 2021 reached 517, a nearly 21 per cent increase over the five year average and a 21 per cent increase over the same nine month period in 2020. 

"The strength of these little ones to come forward and talk about this in our youth is phenomenal," said Staff Sgt. Brad Moore with the child abuse unit, which is based at Luna, formerly known as the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre.

"It allows us to support them," Moore said of the increase in children reporting abuse.

He says more children have been isolated at home during the pandemic and have been spending more time on their computers, which may lead to the sharing and distribution of explicit images. Police are also dealing with more peer-to-peer incidents of abuse involving junior and high school children. 

"There's in-person physical contact, sexual assault happening and a lot of it stems around consent or informed consent or what they thought was informed consent," said Moore.

3 cases a day in late 2021

The CEO of Luna says the centre is dealing with an approximate 15 per cent increase in the number of files and requests for service compared with a year ago — and there was a spike toward the end of the year.

"It's hard to know exactly why that's happening. But it is important for us to be able to share with the community that it is happening," said Karen Orser.

In the last quarter of 2021 alone, the centre took in 307 files, an increase of nearly 50 per cent from the same period in 2020. That's an average of three new files every day. The centre also says the number of forensic interviews is up by about 20 per cent. 

"Child abuse is everyone's issue, and it's everyone's responsibility to know what's happening and to also play a role in keeping kids safe," she said.

The centre, located near the Alberta Children's Hospital, is home to a number of agencies tasked with investigating sexual and physical abuse involving children. Those agencies include Alberta Health Services, the Calgary police, the RCMP, Children's Services and the Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General.

The centre says approximately three-quarters of the victims who report abuse are female, and half of all victims are between 12 and 17.

Orser says that while caseloads are up, the centre, along with almost every other agency and employer, has also been dealing with staffing challenges since the beginning of the pandemic.

"It does mean that it sometimes takes some creativity and some innovative thinking around how we maintain this level of service and make sure that families don't fall through the cracks," Orser said.

She says while it can be difficult to hear about more cases of abuse, it could also mean that more people are recognizing a potential problem and are reporting it.

Orser says parents, teachers and caregivers should always watch for emotional or behavioural changes in children that could indicate possible abuse.

"I think the biggest message we have is that you need to pay attention to your spidey senses, and you need to pay attention to your intuition. We always hate to hear 'I knew something was wrong. I was worried about that child. I should have said something.'"

"You do have a responsibility to report when you suspect abuse. So we want people to call Children's Services and Calgary police if they suspect a child is being abused," she said.

Abusers charged

The same crime stats show Calgary police charged more people for sexual offences last year, but it's unclear how many of their victims were children.

To the end of September last year, 1,033 charges were laid — an increase of 11 per cent compared with the same time frame in 2020.

The head of the child abuse unit says there are many hurdles to clear before charges can be laid, including a victim's willingness to co-operate or difficulty collecting evidence and corroborating victim statements.

Moore stresses that every file they receive is investigated with a primary goal to support the victim and charge the abuser.

"It's not a good thing by any means that we have people being victimized," he said.

But he says there is support for children who come forward to share their stories, no matter how difficult those stories are to hear.

Bryan Labby is an enterprise reporter with CBC Calgary. If you have a good story idea or tip, you can reach him at bryan.labby@cbc.ca or on Twitter at @CBCBryan.