Erin's Law

Erin’s Law aims to enhance child sexual abuse prevention and reporting for students, school staff, and parents and is named after child sexual abuse survivor and advocate Erin Merryn.  

Bill 123, Erin’s Law (Child Sexual Abuse Prevention and Reporting) has been enacted as Chapter 33 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2024. 

The Bill amends the Education Act to require each school board to establish a policy under which pupils in its schools are engaged annually, in a developmentally appropriate manner, regarding the topics of child sexual abuse prevention and reporting. Each board is also required to make information available to parents and guardians and to provide information annually to teachers and other staff in schools. 

KPR is working in close consultation with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection to implement all aspects of Erin’s Law. 

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a national charity dedicated to the personal safety of all children. Their goal is to reduce the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, assist in the location of missing children, and prevent child victimization through a number of programs, services, and resources for Canadian families, educators, child-serving organizations, law enforcement, and other parties. 

KPR teachers will support all students to engage in annual, developmentally appropriate learning through the Kids in the Know program, starting in the 2026-2027 school year.   

The Kids in the Know program has been developed by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.  It is used in schools across Canada to help children build personal safety skills—both online and offline—while also supporting the adults around them, including parents, caregivers, and educators, in having empowering and ongoing conversations about personal safety. 

Program Highlights 

• Classroom lessons: engaging discussions and activities led by teachers that are curriculum-aligned in all Canadian jurisdictions 

• Take-home activities: to reinforce safety messages from the lessons and enhance communication between parents and children 

• Additional parent resources: practical tools and guidance to help parents continue the conversation at home and support children in building lifelong safety 

What Your Child Will Learn 

Through age-appropriate lessons from kindergarten to high school, children learn safety skills that build confidence and competence, helping them recognize, avoid, and respond to unsafe situations both online and offline. 

Trusting their instincts: 

• Children are taught to listen to their body—knowing when something doesn’t feel right and seeking help. Teaching self-awareness from an early age helps children recognize and avoid unsafe situations. 

Identifying safe adults: 

• Children are encouraged to identify safe adults in their lives and practice when and how to ask for help. When children know who the safe adults are in their lives, they build a reliable support system that fosters a sense of security and safety. 

Understanding boundaries and assertiveness: 

• Children learn what personal boundaries are—with respect to their body, personal space, and relationships—and how to recognize and establish safe limits. They also develop assertiveness skills to protect those boundaries by practicing refusal skills and learning how to seek help from safe adults. 

Healthy vs. unhealthy relationships: 

• Children learn how to recognize the difference between safe, respectful relationship behaviours and those that involve control, pressure, or manipulation. This helps them build positive connections and identify harmful behaviours—laying the groundwork for healthy, safe relationships throughout their lives. 

Online Safety: 

• Children learn to think critically about what they see or do online including content exposure to inappropriate or harmful material, contact with adults or peers that may be inappropriate in nature, and conduct that could cause harm to either themselves or another person. This promotes risk avoidance and response, helping children navigate the digital world safely and responsibly. 

Disclosure and communication: 

• Children learn about safe vs. unsafe secrets, how to tell, and what to tell, to help children understand when and how to seek help. 

Problem-solving and critical thinking: 

• Children participate in activities and conversations that emphasize decision-making, safety planning, and evaluating situations to build confidence and independence.