Behind the Scenes with the PLE Team

The YouTube subcommittee of the PLE Team was busy this week filming a video on school expulsions.  The video examines some of the consequences of getting caught selling and buying drugs on school property.

Here is a look behind the scenes at our youth volunteers:

Thanks to everyone involved:

Arif (writer and director)
Bianca (law student writer)
Andrea (JFCY staff lawyer supervisor)
Terence (actor, camera, editing)
Lucas (actor, camera)
Johnny (actor)
Genevieve (actor)
Mindy (actor)
Cydney (actor)
Marie (pizza!)

Stay tuned in early January for the release of this video.

LGBT Rights in Ontario Schools

Scenario:

Mark is a 17 year old student who attends a co-educational high school. Having ‘come-out’ to his school about his sexual orientation, he takes pride in being gay. Yet life hasn’t been so easy for him. Constantly teased by his peers, he feels ostracized by former friends and shunned by his classmates. One day, he finds his locker vandalized and covered in insults. To make matters worse, one of his teachers strongly urges Mark to keep quiet on his identity in order to prevent the escalating reactions. Finding support neither from peers nor a trusted teacher, Mark grows increasingly insecure.

What are Mark’s rights? What can he do?

The rights of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Canadians are well protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code, as well as under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

Recently, in June 2012, the Ontario government introduced anti-bullying legislation, known as Bill 13 or the Accepting Schools Acts 2012 that addresses bullying in publicly funded schools. This law came into force in September 2012 and is now valid and enforceable. The Act creates legal obligations for school boards and schools to prevent bullying, issue tougher consequences for bullying, and support students who want to promote understanding and respect for all. The preamble of the law recognizes that:

“[E]veryone — government, educators, school staff, parents, students and the wider community — has a role to play in creating a positive school climate and preventing inappropriate behaviour, such as bullying, sexual assault, gender-based violence and incidents based on homophobia, transphobia or biphobia”

This Act requires all school boards to support students who want to lead activities or organizations that promote the awareness and understanding of and respect for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, including organizations with the name gay-straight alliance or another name. One important part of the law is that all schools must now allow students to form Gay-Straight-Alliances (GSAs). These groups are geared towards fighting homophobia in schools. They offer support to students who may be dealing with issues and challenges related to their sexual and/or gender identity.

Mark shouldn’t feel as if he can’t express himself. He could go speak to the Principal of his school, another teacher, his parents or someone he trusts. He has rights that should be protected and under the new Accepting Schools Act, must be protected. All students have the right to feel safe and supported in school.

For more information on Bill 13, the Accepting Schools Act: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=2549

If you have specific legal questions relating to bullying, please contact JFCY at 416.920.1633

If you are a victim of bullying and need support, check out some of these organizations:

•   Kids Help Phone: www.kidshelpphone.ca 1 800 668 6868

•   LGBT Youth line: www.youthline.ca 1.800.268.9688 

•   Bullying Canada: http://www.bullyingcanada.ca/content/239672 1-877-352-4497  

For more on Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA): http://mygsa.ca

If you want to find out more about bullying and how you can help raise awareness and 

prevent bullying, you can look at some of these websites:

•   Web Aware on www.bewebaware.ca

•   Canadian Safe Schools Network on www.canadiansafeschools.com

•   http://www.definetheline.ca/

•   www.bullying.org

•   www.wiredsafety.org 

•   www.stopcyberbullying.org

The scenario for this post was written by Cydney Kim a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team.  Cydney is in grade 12 at University of Toronto Schools. The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

As a Victim of Sexual Assault, What Can You Do?

Scenario:

Melissa is a 15-year-old girl struggling with math at school. Fortunately, her new math teacher is extremely nice, offering her extra help with her homework after class. One day, when she goes to his office to ask him a question regarding the new assignment, he accidentally brushes her chest. Confused, she does nothing until he puts his arm around her waist and tries to kiss her. Leaving in a hurry, she doesn’t say anything to anyone. The next day at school, the teacher tells her to see him after class. This time, he tries to force her to take off her shirt. When she refuses, he tells her that no one will believe her anyways and that he will give her an A+ on the next assignment if she complies. Scared, she rushes home, unsure of what to do.

What can Melissa do? What are her legal rights?

What can Melissa do?

If Melissa wants to, she can immediately report the crime to her parents, another teacher, her principle or directly to the police. Her first step to the justice system will be reporting to the police whose role will be to investigate the facts of the case to see if Melissa’s teacher can be charged. The earlier she reports the crime, the higher the chance the police will be able to find relevant evidence (witnesses for example). If there is enough evidence, the police will produce a report recommending charges. After going to the police, Melissa can ask for special measures so that she does not have to see her teacher while pursuing these charges.

Melissa’s Legal Rights:

The The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is in force around the world, including in Canada. It lists the fundamental human rights of all children, defined as everyone below the age of 18. The Government of Canada protects these legal rights. Melissa’s teacher has infringed her right to be protected from physical, mental or sexual abuse, neglect or exploitation.

Criminal Code Offences Involved:

According to the Criminal Code of Canada Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual interference and sexual exploitation.

Section 151(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual interference as: every person who, for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of a person under the age of 16 years.

Section 153 of the Criminal Code of Canada describes sexual exploitation as: every person commits an offence who is in a position of trust or authority towards a young person, who is a person with whom the young person is in a relationship of dependency or who is in a relationship with a young person that is exploitative of the young person, and who a) for a sexual purpose, touches, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, any part of the body of the young person; or b) for a sexual purpose, invites, counsels or incites a young person to touch, directly or indirectly, with a part of the body or with an object, the body of any person, including the body of the person who so invites, counsels or incites and the body of the young person.

Additionally, Melissa’s teacher could be charged with sexual assault. Sexual assault is any form of sexual contact without both parties’ voluntary consent. A sexual assault can also occur when someone threatens to sexually assault another and is able to immediately follow through with that threat. Importantly, sexual assault need not be limited to intercourse. It includes kissing and touching. 

In order for Melissa’s teacher to be found guilty, it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that he engaged or intended to engage in a sexual act without Melissa’s consent.

Consent

Consent means that a person agreed voluntarily to take part in the act. If one does not voluntarily agree, then there is no consent. In Melissa’s case, the first time she brushed him off and ran out, and the second time directly refused, making it clear that she did not consent to any sexual activity.

In order to determine if consent was given, a court will look at Melissa’s words, conduct, and reasonable steps that she took. In this case, Melissa said NO and immediately left. If Melissa is interested in reporting these crimes, then it is recommended that she immediately tell her parents/guardian who can then assist her with going further to telling the principal of her school and the police.

It is very common for a person in Melissa’s situation to feel a variety of different emotions, such as embarrassment, guilt, anger or shame.

There are a variety of resources available in order to offer advice or support:


Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868

Assaulted Women’s Helpline: (416)863-0511, outside GTA: 1-866-863-0511)

Justice for Children and Youth: (416) 920-1633, 1-866-999-5329 (outside GTA)

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres: http://www.sexualassaultsupport.ca/Default.aspx?pageId=535883

Boost Child Abuse Prevention and Intervention: http://www.boostforkids.org/Home.aspx


The scenario for this post was written by Cydney Kim a JFCY volunteer on the PLE Team.  Cydney is in grade 12 at University of Toronto Schoolds. The legal info was written by Lauren Grossman, a first-year law student at U of T who is volunteering at JFCY through her law school’s Pro Bono Students Canada program. All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer.

Video: Leaving Home

Check out this new video that deals with legal issues that can arise when youth leave home.  

Click on the link below to learn about the legal and practical issues that Terence must consider as he decides whether to leave home and live on his own at the age of 16. 

To read more about leaving home legal issues in Ontario, check out this JFCY pamphlet, as well as our past blog posts here and here.

A special thanks to the volunteers from the YouTube Subcommitte of the PLE Team for their efforts in making this video: Arif, Terence, Lucas, Tracy, Cydney, and Chrsitine, as well as JFCY staff lawyer Andrea.

To view the JFCY YouTube channel click here.

BULLYING ZINE

Just in time for the Day of Pink, the JFCY PLE Team has released its Bullying Zine. Click here to read it!

This zine has articles and info on many topics relating to bullying, as well as comics and other graphics. It was directed and edited by Leora Jackson, a U of T law student who volunteered at JFCY this year as part of Pro Bono Students Canada.

The content in the zine was written by the following PLE Team volunteers: Terence Chen, Tracy Chen, Arif Hussain, Marsha Rampersaud, Cydney Kim, Deby Ko, and Inez Leutenegger. The legal info was reviewed by JFCY staff lawyers.

Members of the PLE Team will be handing out copies today at Dundas Square, as part of the Day of Pink, the International Day Against Bullying, Discrimination, Transphobia and Homophobia in schools and communities.

For your own copy, and to distribute to your class, community group or friends, click here.

Child Abuse and the Legal Obligation to Report

Blog scenario was written by JFCY volunteer and PLE Team Member Cydney Kim, a grade 11 student at UTS.  Legal info by JFCY. 

Ashley is a 14 year old student who has just started high school. After moving with her mom and her new step-father to another city, her school and neighborhood are both unfamiliar and daunting.  Luckily, she befriends Jasmine on the first day and soon begins to confide in her. The biggest challenge that Ashley faces is getting used to her new step-father. While she respects her mom’s decision to marry him, she finds it hard to warm up to him.

One day, Ashley accidentally breaks a plate while her mom is not home. Suddenly, her step-father begins to scold her. While it began as a lecture, it gets more heated until he harshly pushes her up against a wall, bruising her back. Later that day, he approaches her and apologizes, claiming that he acted out rashly in a moment of anger. However, it doesn’t stop there. These incidents of physical abuse grow more frequent and Ashley begins to fear going home. Not wanting to end her mother’s marriage, she doesn’t tell her mother and keeps it to herself. After all, her step-father always apologizes to her afterwards.

                

However, her friend Jasmine soon realizes that something is wrong when Ashley begins to come to school with bruises on her arms and worried expressions. Eventually Ashley explains how she received the bruises but brushes the situation aside; saying that her step-father didn’t mean it and that time would solve the problem. As Ashley walks away, Jasmine realizes that these incidents will only grow worse if nothing is done.

What can Jasmine do?

Legal Information

This blog post covers what happens when someone suspects that a child is being harmed or is unsafe at home, and the beginning of the process where child protection services become involved with a family.  It does not describe what happens after the first court hearing if a child is removed from home.  For more information about child welfare court from a young person’s perspective, check out this JFCY pamphlet.  For information for parents and guardians on child protection, check out Family Law Education for Women’s page on child protection.

If Jasmine is concerned about Ashley, she can talk to a teacher or other trusted adult.

Jasmine can tell an adult that she thinks that Ashley may be suffering from abuse at home.  For example, she can tell one of their teachers. Abuse is harm that can take many different forms, including both words and physical actions. Many times, abuse takes place between people who are in close relationships, like people in a sexual relationship or a parent and child.  This can make abuse very difficult to discuss and respond to.  However, no person ever deserves abuse, and regardless of whether Ashley broken things or misbehaved, her step-father has no right to hit her in anger.  For more info on the laws around physical punishment (or “spanking”) click here.  

The adult that Jasmine confides in about her concerns for Ashley may talk to Ashley to find out what is going on.  If this adult thinks that Ashley is being abused then that person has a legal duty to report the situation to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS).  According to Ontario law, every member of the public must contact CAS if they have reasonable grounds to believe that a child is being abused or neglected.  CAS has the authority to investigate situations after they are contacted. This means that CAS will get in touch with the family to find out what is happening.  If necessary, they may act to make sure that the child is safe. 

For more info on what happens once that CAS is involved with a family see our earlier post here.

New Video: Age of Consent

Check out JFCY’s new video on age of consent.  For those of you who want the details in brief, there's a quick summary of the law below:

Consent to sex is always your decision – The Canadian law requires that all people participating in sexual activity must give their own consent: you decide whether you want to be involved in any kind of sexual activity, from kissing and touching to intercourse.  


However, the law sets some limits on that, so that it is illegal if you are below a certain age to be sexually involved with certain other people. This means that if you are too young to consent to sex with a particular person, that older person could be charged with a criminal offence. 

When are you old enough to legally consent to sexual activity?

If you are…

• 12 or 13, you can consent to sex, but only with someone less than two years older than you.
• 14 or 15, you can consent to sex, but only with someone who is less than 5 years older than you. But, you CAN'T consent to sex with someone who is more than two years younger than you (or you could be charged).
• 16 and older, you can consent to sex with anyone older than you. 
• In all of these cases, however, if you are under 18, you cannot legally consent to sex with someone who is in a position of trust or authority over you (like your teacher, swim coach, Pastor). That person could be charged with a criminal offence.

Read the law: Criminal Code of Canada, s.150.1-153.


Thanks to PLE Team Volunteers Terence Chen (actor and video-editor), Lucas Treleaven (actor and script-writer), Arif Hussain (director), Tracy Chen (filming), Cydney  Kim (brainstorming),  Christine Doucette (law student advisor) and Andrea (script, JFCY lawyer supervisor) for their work on this video!