Overview

The Canadian Safe School Network (CSSN) is a national, not-for-profit, registered charitable organization with a mandate to reduce youth violence and make our schools and communities safer. The organization grew out of the Government of Ontario’s Safe School Task Force and was launched in 1997 by representatives from police, education and business communities.

CSSN is the only organization of its kind in Canada and is recognized by national print, television and radio media as a primary source for information and comment on youth-violence issues of the day.

We are located in Toronto, Ontario however, with a national network of experts and professionals, the organization’s services expand across the country.

At CSSN we believe that school and community safety is everybody’s business and we encourage community members from both private and public sectors to become actively engaged and involved. As such, CSSN is committed to building and nurturing partnerships that enable the organization to meet its goals. CSSN works with police services, school boards, the municipal, provincial and federal governments and the business community to find new solutions to the problem of youth violence.

Since our inception, we have been very active in developing safe school resources, administering research, hosting conferences and professional development for educators and administrators and providing comprehensive and current commentary on safe school issues to media outlets throughout Canada.

The Issue

Children need to mature in safe and secure school environments. It is important to communicate to the community that the problem of youth violence is societal in nature and not just the sole responsibility of educators to sort out in isolation. Recognizing that the problem is a shared responsibility is fundamental to the achievement of safe learning environments.

Bullying is a serious issue that touches all schools and communities across Canada. In 2001 the Canadian Safe School Network surveyed 36,799 elementary school students and 73,650 secondary school students on school climate (to view the surveys and the results please click here). The results indicated that:

•	In elementary schools, 23% of students were afraid someone was going to hurt or bother them at school while 41% agreed there was frequent bullying taking place. 13% to 18% had been threatened or physically harmed. 74% agreed that verbal abuse took place regularly at school.
•	In secondary schools, 19% of students were afraid someone was going to hurt or bother them at school while 44% agreed there was frequent bullying taking place. 10% to 15% had been threatened or physically harmed. 81% agreed that verbal abuse took place regularly at school.

In addition to bullying, youth violence and crime in schools and communities is of a growing concern across Canada. The number of young people charged with assault and weapons offences has more than doubled in the past decade. The arrival of guns in our schools is an increasing phenomenon and deserves immediate attention. Gang and weapons-related school violence has intimidated many children into being governed by a code of silence.

Our Vision

The Canadian Safe School Network envisions a society in which all children and youth can:

1.	Learn and grow in a caring, tolerant and violence-free environment;
2.	Become empowered, self-advocate and apply strategies to respond in socially acceptable ways to personal safety issues, especially those that are potentially violent;
3.	Trust adults to believe, respect and protect them from harm; and
4.	Behave responsibly and accept the natural consequences of their own behaviour.