Survey 2000...

If a child told them she/he had been abused, 62.9% of Québécois would immediately report the case to the authorities

According to a Léger & Léger survey, 62.9% of Quebec respondents stated they would immediately report a presumed case of child sexual abuse or violence to the authorities after being told about it by the child, while 25.9% would approach the family.   11.2% either would not know what to do in a similar situation, would not get involved or refused to answer.

The survey revealed that more than one Québec adult in five (22.3%), or 1,250,000 adults, knew a friend or family member who had been sexually assaulted or abused as a child.  There were significantly more women who knew the victims (28.1%) than men (15.4%), and 36.9% of 18 to 24 year-olds said they knew some victims.  Only 37% of these respondents would report the cases to the authorities, while most of them (54%) would rather approach the family.

Questioned on what the government should do to counter child sexual assault and abuse, 45.3% of Québécois believe the government should focus on prevention programs targeting children.  Public awareness campaigns (17.5%), encouraging people to report cases of abuse (16.4%) and allocating more financial resources to child protection initiatives (13.6%) garnered lower levels of popular support.