Sexual Abuse and the Rights of Children: Reforming Canadian Law

Ashley Thomson is a full librarian at Laurentian University and co-editor or co-author of nine books, most recently Margaret Atwood: A Reference Guide, 1988-2005.

The theme of this book is an important and provocative one: namely, that
recent efforts at reforming Canadian law to protect children and young
people from sexual exploitation have failed “to come to grips with how
young people engage in sexual relations with each other, and how adults
and families deal with the sexuality of young persons.” It is
Sullivan’s view that young people are a historically oppressed group
who have certain rights over their own sexuality that have hitherto not
been fully recognized in either practice or law.

A strong subtheme in the book is that while parents once held power
over their children, in recent times, with the sanction of the state,
parents have been replaced by helping professionals such as social
workers and judges. As might be expected from an author who is currently
Executive Director of Research and Policy for the Ontario Premier’s
Council on Health, Well-Being and Social Justice, Sullivan concludes his
book with recommendations for policy reform that are based on direct and
unfiltered input from young people and their families.

It is not possible in a short review to do justice to Sullivan’s
thought-provoking text. This is unfortunate, because the book deserves
widespread attention, which it will not likely receive. While the title
is catchy, the text itself, based on the author’s Ph.D. thesis, is
directed at specialists in both law and child welfare.