You may have heard in the news about the tragic death of Calgarian teen Brittney McInnes. She was allegedly killed by her step-father in her home on January 17th. I find this story particularly tragic because she was an ordinary teenager just like us – she was in her senior year at EP Scarlett High School, looking forward to the future, and known for her infectious smile. Reading about this murder, I couldn’t help but think about each of our roles in preventing this type of thing. Although in this case everyone was stunned by the murder and didn’t think anything was wrong with the family, there are many cases of domestic violence where there are warning signs.
In one article about Brittney’s murder, Sergeant Rick Tuza, head of homicide issued a plea for Calgarians to report signs of domestic problems to social agencies or police.
‘You may have seen a trend here in Calgary with these offences. I think everybody in our community is in a position to assist with these kinds of crimes,’ said Tuza.
‘We’ve had a number of very tragic incidents that I don’t want to be investigating. If somebody saw something in the past and could have spoken up, could it have been prevented? I don’t know.’
It is important to be aware of abuse and domestic violence and watch for warning signs. There is reason to be concerned if a kid you babysit always has strange bruises that he can’t explain, your friend is scared to go home, or your classmate complains of her parents aggressively fighting. Did you know if you have reasonable grounds to believe anyone under 18 is being abused or neglected you are legally required to report it?
In Calgary, call the Child Intervention Services Line any time at (403) 297-2995. And don’t worry that if you report that someone is being abused, they are going to automatically have to go live in a foster home – Child Services will just make sure they are safe and then determine what an appropriate response is. This is really tough stuff and it takes a lot of courage to report it, but if you can help keep someone safe it is worth it. If you want to know if you should report something, want to know who you should report it to, need support around abuse, or just have a problem you want to talk about please call the Teen Line at (403) 264-8336. It’s open 24 hours and teens answer from 5-10pm every night.