What is Sexual Abuse?
All sexual touching between an adult and a child is sexual abuse. Sexual abuse does not have to involve penetration, force, pain, or even touching. If an adult engages in any sexual behavior (looking, showing, or touching) with a child to meet the adult’s interest or sexual needs, it is sexual abuse.
Sexual touching between children can also be sexually harmful or abusive. There is an increase of peer to peer abuse or when there is a significant age difference (often defined as 3 or more years) between the children, if the children are very different developmentally or size-wise, or if it involves adult-like sexual behavior from an older child to a younger child.
A Gradual Process
Most often child sexual abuse is a gradual process and not a single event. By learning the early warning signs and how to effectively step in and speak up, sexual abuse can be stopped before it starts and a child is harmed. Adults and staff must take the primary responsibility for preventing child sexual abuse by addressing any concerning or questionable behavior which may pose a risk to a child’s safety.
THE GROOMING PROCESS
The Grooming Process of the preferential offender prepares a child victim – and the child’s gatekeepers – for inappropriate sexual behavior. This process includes patterns of identifiable behavior, including:
-Gaining access to children within an age and gender of preference
-Selecting a specific child (or children) – often those vulnerable or on the outside
-Introducing nudity and sexual touch
-Keeping the child quiet to ensure secrecy
The grooming process of the preferential offender involves two significant efforts: grooming the child and grooming the gatekeepers.
Grooming the Child
Grooming of the child will vary depending on the age, gender and situation of the child. When the targeted child is a teen male, common grooming behaviors will include pornography, alcohol, marijuana and horseplay.
If the targeted child is a teen girl, common grooming behaviors will include texting, social media communication and sexual discussion. If the targeted child is under eight years of age, common grooming behaviors will include tickling and forms of playful touch, gravitating toward places of isolation.
Grooming the Gatekeeper
A gatekeeper is anyone responsible for protecting a child: parents, teachers, youth workers, coaches or babysitters. The preferential offender works hard to appear helpful, trustworthy and responsible to a child’s gatekeepers. Why? Molesters are looking for trusted time alone to groom a child for sexual touch. When an individual appears helpful, trustworthy and responsible, gatekeepers tasked to protect children are disarmed.
REPORTING SUSPICIOUS OR INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS
Camas Meadows Bible Camp is committed to providing a safe, secure environment for children. To this end, any report of inappropriate behaviors or suspicions of abuse will be taken seriously and will be reported, in accordance with this policy and state law, to the Camas Meadows Bible Camp Board and the Police Department, Child Protective Services, or other appropriate agency.
Camas Meadows Bible Camp intends to create and foster a culture of communication, reporting safety concerns or policy violations. Because sexual abusers “groom” children for abuse, it is possible a staff member or volunteer may witness behavior intended to “groom” a child for sexual abuse. Staff members and volunteers are asked to report possible “grooming” behaviors, any policy violations, or any suspicious behaviors to a director or board member.
Note: It is never okay to joke about sexual abuse. Jokes taken out of content can destroy lives and this organization. All it takes is one person hearing something, misunderstanding and taking it public or to the authorities. Jokes lead to doubt and will discredit the individual and/or organization they work for.
ENFORCEMENT OF POLICIES
Camas Meadows Bible Camp staff members and volunteers who supervise other staff or volunteers are charged with the diligent enforcement of all Camas Meadows Bible Camp policies. Violations of these policies are grounds for immediate dismissal, disciplinary action, or reassignment for both volunteers and staff members.
CONSEQUENCES OF PROHIBITED OR HARMFUL ACT
Any person accused of committing a prohibited act, or any act considered to be harmful to a child, will be immediately suspended from participation at Camas Meadows Bible Camp. This suspension will continue during any investigation by law enforcement or Child Protective agencies.
Any person found to have committed a prohibited act will be removed from future participation as a staff member or volunteer in all activities and programming that involve campers at Camas Meadows Bible Camp. If the person is a staff member or employee, such conduct may also result in termination of employment from Camas Meadows Bible Camp.
Failure to report a prohibited act to one of the individuals identified above is a violation of this policy and grounds for termination of a staff member or dismissal of a volunteer.
MODELING BEHAVIOR
What we do in moderation, campers will do in excess. Campers will look to you to set the boundaries they will test. This is a dilemma with which every staff member or volunteer will wrestle. The way you dress, what you say, how you respond to the smallest circumstance – our campers are watching. If you communicate that it is OK to move an inch, they will go a mile. Please read and understand the guidelines below regarding appropriate “touch and talk”, and follow them closely.
APPROPRIATE PHYSICAL TOUCH
All staff members and volunteers should exercise good judgment when expressing one’s self through physical touch and be to the benefit of the other person. Remember some individuals may not want or feel comfortable with any physical touch. If you are older than them or in a position of authority – allow them to initiate physical contact.
Some appropriate physical touch examples may include:
- Physical contact in observable areas - leaving no room for interpretation or questioning
- An arm around the shoulder (side hug)
- Respectful Hugging, pats on the back and other forms of appropriate physical affection between staff members and campers are important for camper’s development and are generally suitable in the camp setting. Volunteers should refrain from hugging, unless the hug is initiated by the child.
- A brief, assuring pat to their shoulder
- Fun handshakes
A few NEVERS:
a. We don’t touch kids in anger or disgust.
b. We don’t touch kids in any sexually connotative manner.
c. No staff member will ever (day or night) be on or in a child’s bed.
d. Never touch a child’s private parts (to remove ticks or for any other reason).
e. Never tickle a child; this can be misconstrued as sexual contact.
f. Never ignore a camper’s request not to be touched.
g. Never express or require physical affection or touching in any form from a child who shows or expresses discomfort with physical touch.
If a question ever arises, consult the camp director.
Any infraction of the above policy involving even the slightest form of sexual connotation will result in immediate dismissal from the camp with no chance of rehire.
ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTION WITH CAMPERS
No camper will ever be left unattended or unsupervised during camp ministry programming or activities.
Camas Meadows Bible Camp volunteers (parents, speakers, nurses, support crew etc.) are prohibited from being alone with an individual camper, in any area. In the event a volunteer finds himself/herself alone with a single camper, that volunteer will take the camper to a room or building occupied by others. Groups of 3 or more required.
Any two campers together in an unseen or less easily viewed area should be redirected to another (more open) area.
Camas Meadows Bible Camp recognizes that meeting the emotional needs of campers may occasionally require staff members to meet with them on an individual basis.
Staff members should conduct one-to-one meetings with an individual camper OR each other at a time when others are present and where interactions can be easily observed.
REPORTING
Any inappropriate behavior or suspected abuse by any staff member, volunteer, or camper must be reported immediately to the Director or a member of the Camas Meadows Bible Camp Board.
Any suspicion of child abuse (physical or emotional harm) or neglect (failure to act, pattern of conduct, behavior that is serious disregard to the child’s health, welfare or safety) must be immediately reported to a Director or member of the Camas Meadows Bible Camp Board.