Content warning: This story discusses sexualized violence and children. 

Brome Lake resident Jennifer Hopkins is holding a book drive to raise awareness around sexual assault after students from Massey-Vanier High School-English (MVHS) came forward earlier this year alleging instances of sexual violence that they experienced at the school. Following an investigation by the Sûreté du Quebec (SQ), media outlets reported late last week that a minor has been arrested and charged in the case.

In late March, students and parents gathered outside of MVHS to speak out on the allegations of sexual violence and claimed that MVHS and the Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) failed to its protect students. At the time, Chairperson for the ETSB Michael Murray told CIDI that the school board “tries to ensure that every complaint is treated as serious.” Following the demonstration at MVHS, the Sûreté du Quebec (SQ) launched its own investigation into the claims. 

Last week, CTV News Montreal, CBS News, and Global News reported that the Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office confirmed that a minor has been arrested and charged in the case. According to these reports, the charges include harassment, assault, forcible confinement, four counts of attempted sexual assault, and three counts of sexual interference. The ETSB confirmed with CIDI that the student is no longer at MVHS and is being provided with home services.

Witnessing what is taking place in her community, and as a mother of an alleged sexual assault victim, Hopkins emphasized that parents can no longer shy away from reality and that there needs to be more open dialogue with children on consent and body autonomy. She views books as a way to initiate these complex discussions with children, which she describes as critical to for a “safe and healthy community.”

“Due to frustration, anger, and sadness at what my family went through, I wanted to turn it into something positive. It (the book drive) was sparked even more from watching what happened at Massey-Vanier in the last couple of months with six girls coming forward and alleging sexual assault at the school and how the school board didn’t do much to protect these girls,” said Hopkins.

“April was also Sexual Assault Awareness Month so I thought let’s do something positive and help educate children to understand what consent is, for four year olds all the way up to fourteen year olds,” she added.

This is Hopkins’ second book drive, having coordinated one about three years ago following the death of George Floyd and protests that followed which were led the Black Lives Matter Movement. With the help of local bookstore Brome Lake Books, she curated a list of children’s books that introduced topics such as diversity and Canada’s residential schools. Members of the community sponsored a book and then they were donated to Knowlton Academy.

She is working with Brome Lake Books again this year and she encourages parents to take advantage of the resources that are out there to provide children with a better understanding of the reality they are living in. 

“I’m 47 and there definitely wasn’t books about that. I think it’s quite amazing how many books are out there to help facilitate these conversations, be it for parents to help facilitate it with their children, teachers,” said Hopkins. “(…) There is a lot of literature out there for teachers and parents so I thought that I’d make it easier by putting together a book list. One of the books is Don’t Hug Doug, they’re child friendly. I’ve used them to help teach my daughter and I thought they could be helpful tools. They’re there and if the community can help, all the better.”

It’s important that parents play their part in having these sensitive discussions with their children because they can’t always depend on “overwhelmed” teachers to do so, according to Hopkins. 

“Our teachers are so overwhelmed, they are pulled in so many different directions, they have to get the curriculum in, and have only so many hours in a day. We can’t really leave it up to teachers to teach this, but it really is one place where all kids are that they can be taught,” she said. 

Hopkins said that “as uncomfortable as it is to have to talk to children in primary schools about sexual assault and consent,” it’s important to provide children with a “framework” and a “voice” to understand sexual assault on an “innocent level” so that it doesn’t continue to happen. 

“Like ‘oh, I can say no and that’s okay’ and to use examples that are child friendly. No one wants to think that sexual assaults are happening in primary schools, I get it, but they are. So we either ignore it, it continues to happen, and then it gets transferred to the high school level and it continues happening there, or we start to help children at a younger age face the uncomfortable reality that this is happening,” she explained. “(…) In light of the Me Too Movement, this is our reality and we have to deal with it and not dealing with simply exasperates the problem.”

Talking about sexual assault also plays an important role in removing the “shame” that victims feel, added Hopkins. 

“One thing that I’ve found over the last couple of years with what my family has been dealing with, every woman friend, family member, neighbour, everyone that I talk to has a story. We all have stories, even men. To share this, removes the shame. No one has to talk about their story, but if helps someone hearing someone else’s story and it helps them remove some of that shame that they might be living with, let’s do it,” she said. “It makes for a more productive, and healthy, society, healthy children, respectful children. I think it's necessary.”

Moving forward, Hopkins said that she hopes “we can talk about sexual assault as freely as we talk about bullying.”

“We all come out and say that bullying is bad and terrible, no one is really embarrassed to say that ‘I was bullied.’ I hope that the school board really takes a moment to sit back and think about what’s happened over the last few years and how they could have dealt with it differently. There are a lot of uncomfortable things in the world, but it’s not our job to hide them,” she said. “With sexual assault, the majority of people that are sexually assaulted are minors, so we are trying to speak to the population that is most affected. That might be uncomfortable to admit, but it’s true.” 

CIDI reached out to the ETSB for a follow-up interview, but it denied the request. In an email to CIDI from the ETSB’s communications team, the organization said that “we are not doing any interviews nor do we have any updates or comments to share, other than the said student can no longer be at the school and is being provided with home services.”

When the allegations of sexual violence at MVHS were made public back in March, Murray expressed to CIDI that the school board is “extremely sensitive to how students feel” and that the board goes out of its way “to make it easy for students to express that they have some kind of discomfort or bad feeling about what’s happening.” The ETSB has a thorough protocol and resources set in place once a student makes a complaint, according to Murray. Moving forward, he urged parents and students that feel uncomfortable to speak to any adult within their school to launch the process. 

CIDI also reached out to the SQ to confirm the minor’s arrest, but they did not provide a response. 

Those interested in supporting the book drive can visit Brome Lake Books for the complete list. Hopkins encourages people to buy two copies or more of each book. This year, the books will be donated to Knowlton Academy and Waterloo Elementary School. If extra copies of the books are purchased by community members, Hopkins will distribute them to other local schools that may need them. 

Listen to the full interview with Hopkins below: