TheStar.com | GTA | School board opens confidential tip line

TheStar.com | GTA | School board opens confidential tip line

Jan 16, 2008 06:47 PM
LOUISE BROWN
EDUCATION REPORTER

Toronto students who have seen or been the victim of violence or sexual harassment can report to a confidential telephone hotline any time night or day starting Monday.

In its first move to enact some of the recommendations of the recent Falconer report on school safety, the Toronto District School Board has announced students will be able to leave a message 24 hours a day on the confidential tip line, to be handled by principals, social workers and psychiatrists.

"Callers will be asked to leave a detailed message, and they can feel secure that no one beyond the Student Safety Line Response Team will know about or reveal their call," said board officials in a statement released yesterday.

"That team will include experienced school administrators, psychologists and social workers who will respond to calls in a way that respects students’ privacy and anonymity while ensuring that their concerns are not ignored."

A confidential phone line was one of 126 recommendations Toronto lawyer Julian Falconer made to boost school safety in the report he was commissioned to conduct after the shooting death last May of student Jordan Manners at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate.

Falconer said he found a "culture of fear" about reporting violent incidents, sexual harassment and assault that spans the school board from student to senior board officials.

The new hotline, to be launched Monday at 2 p.m., will be run as a pilot project this year to be reviewed at the end of this school year.

In a statement released yesterday, the board noted that the new Student Safety Line is not meant to replace the valuable role played by Toronto Crime Stoppers or Kids Help Phone, but is meant to provide another way to keep learning environments safe.