B.C.'s representative for children and youth is calling on the government to formally adopt policy changes to the way alleged young offenders are treated when it comes to court-ordered mental or physical assessments.
Mary Ellen Turpel-Laford issued a 22-page report Monday with four recommendations that include policies involving breast and genital examinations for females.
Turpel-Lafond became involved after a June 2007 complaint from the group Justice for Girls, which was concerned that several teens or pre-teens had been inappropriately touched during breast or pelvic exams.
The report concludes that breast and genital examinations can reveal medical and health issues relevant to the overall assessment of the youth, but the privacy and vulnerability of those involved must be respected and protected.
An RCMP investigation concluded charges stemming from the Justice for Girls report were not warranted, but a separate investigation by the Ministry of Children and Family Development led to a change in practice involving female examinations.
Turpel-Lafond called on the Children's Ministry to formally adopt the changes in writing by next month.
"The representative is supportive of the recent changes . . . such that a breast or genital examination be concluded only in circumstances when such exams are warranted by medical evidence or clinically indicated,'' she said in the report.
Turpel-Lafond also recommended that the Children's Ministry adopt a policy that separates the personal components -- breast and genital exams -- from the overall medical report unless necessary for health reasons.
She also recommended that by October, written ministry policy should allow the youth to choose the gender of the doctor performing physical examinations, and that a chaperone be provided.
Turpel-Lafond called on the Health Ministry to assume a more active role in ensuring ongoing health and dental care for youth in custody, and issue a progress report by next January.
