Water safety education needs to target teenage males, say officials with the B.C. Coroners Service.
Last week, the service released its report by the Child Death Review panel, which delved into drowning deaths. The study examined 35 cases of children and youth who drowned between 2007 and 2013. The panel found that important water safety messages are not getting through to young people most at risk.
Of the deaths reviewed, approximately seven in 10 involved youths aged 15 to 18. Three-quarters of those who died were male.
Four years ago, a 17-year-old Chinese exchange student died after being found unconscious in the water at Alice Lake. The teenager was at the provincial park while on a field trip with North Vancouver’s Bodwell High School.
The coroners’ review panel recommended that the B.C./Yukon branch of the Lifesaving Society bring together key stakeholders to develop messaging specifically targeting young men in the 15 to 18 age group. The panel went on to recommend the Canadian Red Cross focus on education for parents, stressing the need for close supervision of young children when around water.
An estimated one million people drown every year, the Lifesaving Society stated. B.C.’s drowning rate is the highest across all of Canada’s provinces and territories, according to the 2014 British Columbia Drowning Report. Thirty-four per cent of the province’s drownings occur in rivers and 30 per cent in lakes.
National Drowning Prevention Week takes place from July 19 to 27.
