(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

respect day

Citizens encouraged to say ‘yes’ to respect

May 24, 2019 | 5:35 PM

Respect was the theme on Friday at Red Deer City Hall Park where community organizations were set up for the third annual Respect Day.

Patricia Arango, executive director at the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre, says as it pertains to sexual assault, it sometimes feels like a light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t exist.

“There’s no explanation to having so many kids sexually assaulted in their own home,” she says. “In our office, 100 per cent of the kids we see are being sexually assaulted in their own home by someone they know. Stranger danger doesn’t apply anymore.”

That’s coupled with the sexual assaults that happen in the streets and in other situations.

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Crime stats for the first quarter of 2019 show that there were 54 sexual assault investigations done by Red Deer RCMP, higher than each of the last five years, and more than in the first quarters of 2014 and 2015 combined.

“Sometimes I feel more frustrated because we work so hard. We put in all the effort. We have a very good team and we don’t see any change,” Arango says, also acknowledging the positive impacts they do in fact have on their clients.

“They keep coming in. The most important thing we do at the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre is that we work with human beings. We don’t work with just one specific type of person. If you need help, we are here to support you.”

But Arango is keeping the faith despite the disrespect found regularly on social media and in real life situations.

“Working together we can make it happen, but the lack of respect is one of the reasons why we have so many victims of sexual assault. The lack of respect is killing people,” she says.

“It’s not easy, but we want the community to say yes to respect. Respect is one of the most important foundations of our lives.”

Next up for the support centre is National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week which runs May 26-June 1.