Online Dangers: Cyberbullying and Online Child Sexual Exploitation

From Public Safety Canada

Expert panel: What parents and caregivers need to know
Tuesday, February 8, 2022, 6 – 7 PM EST

Alyson Schafer is a family counsellor and an internationally acclaimed parenting expert. She is recognized by Canadians as the resident parenting expert on many media outlets including The Marilyn Denis Show, Global's The Morning Show, Global Morning News and CBC Radio. She hosts The Parenting Show on Roger's TV as well as the podcast "Parenting The Adlerian Way".

Alyson is the bestselling author of three parenting books: Breaking the Good Mom Myth; Honey, I Wrecked The Kids; and Ain't Misbehavin'. She has spoken to audiences around the globe including Uruguay, Bulgaria, Belgium, Switzerland, Ukraine and more.

Armed with years of research, and both clinical and field experience, Alyson provides a fresh and positive perspective on family dynamics as well as actionable solutions that help parents gain the skills and confidence needed to face modern life challenges.

Kristin Duval
Senior Research Analyst, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Kristin Duval has been with the RCMP for over 15 years. In her current role as Senior Research Analyst within the Strategic and Operational Services' Program Research and Development Unit, she is involved in the areas of online child sexual exploitation, missing persons and unidentified remains, truth verification and behavioural sciences. Her area of expertise is within online child sexual exploitation, which includes health and wellness, and how to better support the health and wellbeing of those working within this area.

Sarah Benkirane
Director of Clinical Operations, Crisis Text Line, Kids Help Phone

Sarah Benkirane is the Director of Clinical Operations for Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone. She is responsible for overseeing daily operations and clinical support for frontline staff, and co-chairs the Emergency Service Referrals committee at Kids Help Phone, where her expertise is in domestic violence, human trafficking, child abuse informs training and continuing education for frontline staff. Sarah provides important insight about how young people reach out for support regarding cyberbullying and online child sexual exploitation.

Noni Classen
Director of Education, Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Noni Classen is the Director of Education at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P). Since joining the organization in 2004, she has led the development of three national education programs to reduce the sexual victimization of children: Commit to Kids, Kids in the Know, and Teatree Tells. Noni works closely with child-serving organizations across the country including education and sports to help implement a systems-based approach to safeguarding children from child sexual abuse.

With a bachelor's degree in communications and media studies, she began her career by interviewing the biggest movie stars. With her great versatility, she has been interviewed on many leading radio programs, including Plus on est de fous, plus on lit (Ici Première). On television, she has made her mark on Salut Bonjour! (TVA) as well as on the program Les dix de 2020 (Radio-Canada, television and podcast), of which she is also producer and which presents ten personalities who have distinguished themselves in 2020 and 2021.

Upset by the death of George Floyd in the United States, Isabelle reflects on systemic racism in the documentary: Pour mes fils, mon silence est impossible (Radio-Canada), which she hosts and produces. The Montreal Gazette has described her as "Quebec's Oprah" and she is now co-host of Rythme-fm's Back Home.

Rosiane Racine
Sergeant, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Sergeant Rosiane Racine started her career with the RCMP in 2004 doing general duty policing in small rural community on the West Coast of Vancouver Island in Ucluelet, British Columbia. In 2007, Rosiane transferred to the British Columbia Integrated Child Exploitation Team where she worked as an investigator for three years. In 2010, Rosiane moved to the British Columbia Provincial Major Crime Unit and then to the Integrated National Security Team in 2014. In 2017, Rosiane was selected to represent the RCMP as the International Liaison Officer in Washington, DC where she was posted at the Canadian Embassy for three years. In the summer of 2020, Rosiane returned to Canada to lead the Operations Team at the National Child Exploitation Crime Centre. Rosiane has a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Ottawa and a Master's degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University. 

Sarah Benkirane
Director of Clinical Operations, Crisis Text Line, Kids Help Phone

Sarah Benkirane is the Director of Clinical Operations for Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone. She is responsible for overseeing daily operations and clinical support for frontline staff, and co-chairs the Emergency Service Referrals committee at Kids Help Phone, where her expertise is in domestic violence, human trafficking, child abuse informs training and continuing education for frontline staff. Sarah provides important insight about how young people reach out for support regarding cyberbullying and online child sexual exploitation.

René Morin
Spokesperson, Canadian Centre for Child Protection

René Morin has been associated with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCPC) since 2005. He represents the CCPE in the French-speaking world and coordinates the translation and adaptation of its resources for French-speaking users. He is also the CCPC's spokesperson to the French media. A trained translator, he holds an honours degree and a master's degree in translation from the University of Ottawa.