Under new provincially enacted regulations governing the use of preferred pronouns among children in school, external sexual education organizations now find themselves excluded from educational premises. The Saskatoon Sexual Assault Information Centre (SSAIC) reported surprise at finding themselves among the organizations ousted from classrooms.
On the emergence of this policy, initial confusion reigned within SSAIC over the potential impact on their work. That uncertainty quickly morphed into concern, shared by the SSAIC’s Executive Director, Reagan Conway. The primary question loomed, how to regain admission into schools.
At the juncture when this policy was instated, the SSAIC was preparing for their November presentations tailored for Grade 8 students, with further presentations earmarked for Grade 4 students in the new year. Conway elaborated on the content of their educational module named ‘No is a full sentence,’ explaining that they did not receive the green signal to proceed with their presentations within schools.
Despite deriving their funding from the Ministry of Justice to deliver outreach and education initiatives, Conway expressed incredulity over the School’s decision to bar their and all other sexual assault centres’, services. She highlighted this confusion felt by the three sexual assault centres in the province, Regina, Saskatoon and the Battlefords.
Conway clarified that the sexual assault centres within the province don’t engage in sexual health education. Their focus lies squarely on prevention, consent and childhood sexual abuse prevention.
In a response via email, the Ministry of Education confirmed that sexual assault centres remain key players in the “education community”. The official communique outlined that “third parties, including sexual assault centres, contribute significantly to offering services like counselling to the Kindergarten through Grade 12 educational arc.”
With the implementation of the community safety and wellbeing branch (CSWB), the ministry assures, it’s working closely with its partners to elucidate the new policy and address emerging doubts.
As the Ministry reviews the situation, Conway and her team have been crafting strategies to offer their much-needed programming in alternative community settings to continue supporting young people. Despite this detour, Conway remains hopeful for a swift return to the educational grounds.
