Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada (CYACC) welcomes the recommendations outlined in the Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime report Rethinking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence: A Systemic Investigation. The report calls for a coordinated national justice strategy to protect children and youth and recognizes the Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (CYAC) model as a proven approach that strengthens safety, healing, and accountability.

The report underscores what CYACs across Canada see every day. Children continue to move through systems that were not built with their needs in mind. A national approach is needed to ensure that justice, child protection, health, mental health, and victim support systems work together in ways that are consistent and developmentally appropriate for young people.

Stable, long-term funding is one urgent piece of the solution. The deeper issue is one of system design. Canada must build structures that reduce trauma, strengthen coordination, and provide a consistent, child-centred response everywhere in the country

CYACC is ready to work with the Department of Justice and provincial and territorial governments to address gaps in the current system, set national expectations for child-centred practice, and ensure that every child and youth in Canada has access to the coordinated support the CYAC model provides.

“On behalf of Canada’s Child and Youth Advocacy Centres, we welcome this report’s recommendations that call for specialized, compassionate, and coordinated support for all children and youth who have experienced abuse. A response that brings the right professionals together around each child is essential to safety, healing, and justice. Canada’s systems need to evolve so that children are no longer expected to navigate adult-designed processes. Stable, long-term investment is one part of this change, but the broader goal is a system that meets the needs of every child in every community.”

- Karen Orser and Leah Zille, Co-Chairs, Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada

A coordinated, well-resourced network of CYACs is essential to protecting children and youth who have experienced abuse or violence, standardizing best practices, and ensuring that no child faces these systems alone. CYACC and its members stand ready to collaborate with all levels of government to make these recommendations a reality and to ensure every child and youth in Canada has access to the support, safety, and justice they deserve.