By Pierre Barns on
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Dear Respected Teachers of [School Name]

I am writing to you in the capacity of a parent with school-aged children here in [Province/State Name]. Ever since I came to learn about some of the books in my kids' school libraries and what is being taught to minors, I decided to research all public schools in the province, including [School Name].

To date, I have connected with and befriended numerous parents and caregivers who share my concerns about some of the material being presented to children in the name of diversity and inclusivity. Some of the aforementioned connections are actually parents of students at [School Name]. In the spirit of interfaith and intercultural diversity, we all share one thing in common, namely, a serious concern about pornographic materials being promoted in our public school system.

I understand that it is challenging to talk about this because of the intense institutional pressure placed upon you to accept all academic materials. However, intervening effectively in the lives of these children is not the sole responsibility of any single agency or institution, but rather it is a shared community concern, and parents have a fundamental right to raise their children as they see fit. Schools should facilitate communication and involvement with parents and the community.

Each day, child abuse threatens the safety and well-being of our children across Canada. According to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection report on Child Sexual Abuse by K-12 School Personnel in Canada, 67% of offenders worked in Public Schools, 26% in Catholic/Christian Schools, and 7% in Private Schools.

Child sexual abuse is an epidemic that impacts far too many families and communities. Together parents, teachers, and community members can make a difference, which is why it is imperative that we make it safe to discuss this topic openly and frankly.

 

According to the Canadian Center for Child Protection, non-contact sexual abuse is as follows:

  • Encouraging a child to masturbate or watch others masturbate
  • Secretly recording or observing a child in a private situation for a sexual purpose (voyeurism)
  • Exposing a child to individuals engaging in sexually explicit acts (including exposure to adult pornography)
  • Exposing a child to child sexual abuse material
  • "Flashing" or exposing genitals to a child
  • Communicating over technology to make it easier to commit a specific sexual offense against a child (luring a child)
  • Taking a picture or recording a video of a child's sexual organs for a sexual purpose

Operated by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, ProtectKidsOnline.ca state that exposure to sexually explicit material may:

  • Prematurely sexualize a child.
  • Incite a child to experiment with sexually explicit behavior to make sense of it.
  • Lead a child to normalize and become desensitized to high-risk behaviour.
  • Shape a child's expectations in relationships.
  • Shape a child's expectations of physical appearances and certain sexual acts.
  • Blur boundaries and increase a child's risk of victimization.
  • Increase a child's health risks (i.e. sexually transmitted infections, sexual exploitation,
  • etc.).
  • Increase a child's risk of problematic sexual behaviour against other children in an effort to experiment.
  • Interfere with a child's healthy sexual development.

 

It also states the following:

  • Pornography is not reality. It creates confusing expectations, attitudes and beliefs about what to expect in a healthy sexual interaction.
  • Pornography makes sexual violence seem okay, that being aggressive will get you what you want and that "no" means "yes."
  • Pornography reinforces gender stereotypes such as guys call all the shots and girls are meant to be used for a sexual purpose.
  • It portrays people as objects; a thing to be used and not as a person.

Pornography is often thought of as pictures or videos of nudity or sexual acts. But depicting those sexual acts in animated content and literature is also pornography. That happens whether it is a graphic video or an explicit passage in a book.

Teachers have a moral and legal obligation to protect children in their care. You might be the only adult in that child's life who oversees them enough even to notice, let alone report, the abuse or neglect. This is a given responsibility that is not to be taken lightly.

Many of you may be parents yourself; therefore, we reach out to you as parents to other parents who may share some of our concerns about sexually explicit material shown to children under your care.

Some of us have children in the public systems, including [School Name], so we would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the abovementioned issues privately or publicly with teachers who may share the same concerns. Please reply to this email or contact me directly by phone so we can organize a meeting. We will follow up with you [Date to Follow Up] if we still await a reply.

I have attached the list of concerning books within [School Name] Library to this email: 

[date] [name of school] - report.pdf

Kind Regards,

[Concerned Parent Name]