‘We cannot reduce a risk we don’t understand.’
This segment identifies commonly held misconceptions and provides factual information necessary to equip ministry leaders to better understand and address the risk of child sexual abuse.
Segment 1: Sexual Abuse Awareness Training
- Facts about child sexual abuse and sexual abusers
- Common misconceptions
- Abuser characteristics
- The grooming process utilized by preferential abusers
- Common grooming behaviors
- Legal reporting requirements
Segment 2: Peer-to-Peer Sexual Abuse
- Defining peer sexual abuse
- Distinguishing peer abuse from natural sexual curiosity
- Imbalance of power
- Locations and activities creating higher risk
- Age range and gender of higher risk (aggressor)
- Warning signs
- Methods to reduce risk
- Impact on children (long and short term)
- Legal reporting requirements
This session addresses the creation and specific elements of an effective Safety System in ministry contexts.
Segment 1: Overview of a Safety System
- The system created depends on the risk presented
- The effectiveness of a system is related to ‘buy-in at the top’
Segment 2: Elements of a Safety System
- Sexual Abuse Awareness Training
- Skillful Screening™ Processes and Training
- Appropriate Criminal Background Checks
- Tailored Policies and Procedures
- Systems for Monitoring and Oversight
Segment 3: Creating a Safety Committee
- Safety Committee tasks and composition
- Training of Safety Committee members
- Ongoing function of Safety Committee
‘Skillful Screening—Keeping the Wolf out of the Sheep Pen’™
Screening job applicants and volunteers who will work or interact with children is an important responsibility for ministry leaders. Effective screening practices can limit the possibility that an applicant with inappropriate sexual motives gains access to children through ministry programs.
Ministry leaders should be cognizant of high-risk responses indicating that an applicant may be a danger to children served by the ministry.
Skillful Screening Concepts™
- Elements of an effective screening process for ministry contexts
- Effective use of applications, criminal background checks, references and interviews
- Male and female offender characteristics
- Utilizing questions meant to illicit a high-risk response
- Recognizing high-risk responses
- Identifying evasive answers and non-answers
- Creating opt-out opportunities
- Effective record keeping
Ministry personnel must gain an accurate understanding of statutory reporting requirements related to child sexual abuse.
Reporting Requirements
- Statutory reporting requirements—common elements
- To whom a report is made
- When and how to report
- Content of report
- Changes in the law and legal trends
- Criminal prosecution and penalties for failure to report
- Mandatory reporters
- Clergy privilege
- Criminal and civil immunities related to reports of child abuse
- Good faith reports of child abuse
- Investigating allegations of abuse
- Reporting peer-to-peer abuse incidents
Ministry leaders should be equipped with accurate information and resources before an allegation arises. Preparation involves planning—thinking through protocols that should be set in place before an allegation arises.
Segment 1: Preparing for the Risk
- Selecting the right insurance coverage
- Choosing an appropriate insurance agent
- Statutory reporting requirements
- The “Sexual Abuse Fire Drill”©
- Creating your ministry’s “Sexual Abuse Response Plan”©
Segment 2: Responding to an Allegation
- Reporting to law enforcement
- Cooperating with criminal authorities
- Contingencies when alleged abuser is a staff member, volunteer or parent
- HR concerns
- Media interaction
- Proactively communicating with the alleged victim(s) and their families
- Communicating with families of children who may have been impacted by abuser
- Communicating with the congregation, stakeholders, and key leadership
- Evaluating systems of protection
- Legal representation
- Public relations and media consultation
- Communication with insurance carrier; giving notice of a possible claim
Segment 3: Lessons from the Ditch ©
- Learning from the mistakes of others
- Adopting a victim-centric perspective
- Avoiding an organization-centric perspective
- Avoiding an abuser-centric response
- Acts that frame a response
- Statements, actions and response that can lead to the ‘ditch’
Segment 4: Engaging Appropriate Legal Counsel
- The importance of engaging appropriate counsel
- Bad advice can lead to poor results
Litigation of civil cases, highly publicized prosecution of perpetrators and new law from state legislatures are changing the landscape concerning preventative measures and standards of care impacting ministry programs. Ministry leaders should be aware of existing laws, new legislative requirements, and trends aimed at preventing sexual abuse.
Changes in the Law
- Understanding ‘Standards of Care’
- Changes in the law related to child sexual abuse
- Survey of national legislative trends
- Reporting responsibilities and Clergy Privilege
- Statutory requirements related to training and criminal background checks
Child sexual abuse is an issue impacting every ministry, whether abuse occurred within the ministry or an allegation originated from ‘outside’. This session outlines an appropriate model of care for abuse survivors in ministry contexts, including adult survivors of past sexual abuse.
Segment 1: Addressing Child Sexual Abuse in Ministry Contexts
- Actions to take if a child reports abuse
- Emotional, physical, and behavioral warning signs
- Impact on children
- How to care for survivors
Segment 2: Model of Care
- Common mistakes and poor responses to child sexual abuse in ministry contexts
- Impact of poor responses to the abuse survivor
- Resources for care of abuse survivors
- Effective use and limitations of church-based counseling programs
- Effective use of professional counseling resources
- Communication with the abuse victim and the victim’s family
- Meeting the emotional and spiritual needs of the child or adult survivor
- Addressing the emotional needs of the family or friends of the victim
- Providing a venue for the emotions encountered by ministry co-workers
Child sexual abuse is an issue impacting every Christian camp. The risk is high; the cost of ignoring the risk is catastrophic, and sometimes mission-killing.
This module equips camp leaders with cutting-edge information and resources to effectively implement child protection protocols at camp.
Segment 1: Christian Camp & Conference Centers Part 1
- How sexual abuse risk unfolds at camp
- Responding to an allegation
- Sexual Abuse ‘Fire Drill’
- Third party use of camp facilities
- Facts and misconceptions
- Abuser characteristics
- The offender’s ‘grooming process’
- Reporting requirements for camps
Segment 2: Christian Camp and Conference Centers Part 2
- Methods to reduce risk
- Peer to peer abuse
- Peer abuse: locations of higher risk
- Warning signs of sexual abuse
- An effective camp Safety System
- Screening employees and volunteers- the process
- Male and female offender characteristics
- Risk indicators
- Interviewing applicants
- Use of References
