A team of six Canadians — including a superior court justice, two crown attorneys, an instructor from the Ontario Police College, a detective and a physician — led a four-day IJM training seminar in May for professionals who work with child abuse cases in Bolivia. Bolivian police, prosecutors and judges packed the conference facility to learn how the Canadian system responds to child abuse situations.

The training focused on topics like understanding the offence of sexual abuse, conducting an effective investigation that protects the victim from further trauma and preparing and presenting in the court room.

For IJM Canada board member Justice Ken Pedlar of the Ontario Superior Court the trip was an opportunity to share information and resources from the Canadian system — and to see the IJM Bolivia team in action.  “I was never so proud to be a Canadian,” says Pedlar. “The participants had so many questions about the system here. The room was filled with people with a lot of experience. And the IJM team is so effective. As a board member I see that it is a good investment we are making in Bolivia.”

Pedlar’s teaching stressed the importance of taking all child sexual abuse cases seriously. “We were trying to emphasize that sexual abuse is serious, even if it doesn’t involve rape or physical injury.” Pedlar read victim impact statements from Canadians who had given him permission to share their stories. “The statements showed the impact of abuse, even later in life. That was an important message.” Pedlar also shared his insights on how to help children truthfully share their stories in the courtroom and to other authorities. The work of the Canadian team had an immediate impact when participants shared that interviews with children who have been sexually assaulted often take place in the middle of busy, crowded police station, with no privacy for the traumatized child.

“After we explained that victims need privacy, some of the police officers said, ‘We do have a corner that might be used’ and IJM Bolivia is helping them to build that room. That was a very positive, almost immediate response to what we were teaching,” Pedlar remarks.

Bruce Long is a retired regional director of crown attorneys in Ontario and also participated in the trip. Long shared his experience making court appearances less intimidating and threatening for child victims. “The participants were the most attentive audience I have ever spoken to. They were so attentive. At the end of the hour of speaking, I was elated to see the reaction of the audience.”

Long says that the Canadian team was able to provide a practical, comprehensive training that would have an impact on the Bolivian courts — a system in need of repair. “I would sit in the back of the room and just shake my head and see a miracle unfolding in front of me as a Canadian judge spoke to Bolivian judges, and a detective taught about investigating to Bolivian police officers.”

Dr. Leslie Damude is a family physician who traveled with the team. Dr. Damude’s teaching focused on how child abuse victims might present in the doctor’s office. “They don’t usually come in and say they were abused. They may come in with bad headaches, for example,” explains Dr. Damude. Participants learned how to establish rapport with abuse victims and the importance of being gentle. “People in the audience really started to participate,” says Dr. Damude. “There were watershed moments. And there were people there who can really make a difference in the system.” For this London, Ont. based doctor, it is the emphasis on structural transformation that makes IJM’s work so effective. “I think there are few organizations that do true structural change. In medicine, I learned years ago that to really change things you have to do preventative work as well. It’s doing the upstream work. And that’s what IJM does so well.”