Professional Documents
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Solutions April 2010 Small
Solutions April 2010 Small
SOLUTIONS
Providing Solutions to Minimize Risks
APRIL 2010 VOLUME 14 ISSUE 4
Harmless Experimentation
or Child Abuse?
Inspiration
A
new focus in the prevention of The impact of peer-on-peer abuse can impact
"Whoever welcomes child abuse is shifting the spotlight a child long into their adult life.
one of these little from traditional forms of abuse and Adults have the responsibility to
children in My Name sexual exploitation to the growing trend properly supervise children while they
of peer-on-peer inappropriate abusive participate in church and school sponsored
welcomes me; and
situations. All too often parents, educators activities. Likewise the church has a duty to
whoever welcomes and church leaders fail to recognize the provide a safe environment where children
Me does not welcome potential harm that can be caused by this can worship, learn and socialize together.
Me but the one who type of child abuse. Adults often consider April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
sexual activity with a sibling, peer or cousin Often we work hard to properly screen
sent me."
just a form of innocent experimentation adult volunteers and employees but we fail
Mark 9:37
and part of the growing up process. The fact to guard against one child causing harm to
is a child who is placed in a situation where another when they interact together. While
they cannot refuse or defend themselves is a we can never let down our
Motivation child who is being sexually violated. Parents guard in the area of adult
"The only reason why need to be vigilant for signs and symptoms, screening we must also
child abuse is alive especially when these signs suggest there is keep watch to assure
something troubling your child. proper supervision
today, is because we as In today’s electronic age children are is maintained at all
adults fail our children learning to interact on computers and times. This month
when we fail to listen cell phones before they reach the age of we will look further
to them. Listen to a elementary school. The electronic jungle into the tragic
can be a scary place for an unsuspecting situations that can
child today! " child to be exposed to inappropriate sexual create liability and
Heather McClane interactions. Sexually explicit online the warning signs
chat rooms can lead to devastating secret to help alert you
meetings with a child predator as we have when a child may
read in the headlines. Even worse can be the be at risk. ■
peer-on-peer sex-texting and exchanging
Arthur F. Blinci,
of digital pictures of children engaging in ARM eMBA, a vice
sexual activity. These actions can often lead president of Adventist
to situations of bullying and other forms of Risk Management, Inc.,
prepared this article.
physical, verbal or psychological abuse.
Is It Exploration...
Or Is It Sexual Abuse?
P
eer-on-peer abuse is the tort of the new century,” said She said that David no longer wanted to come to school and
the speaker at a meeting during the Non-Profit Risk cried each day in the car while she drove him to the campus.
Management Institutes conference in September 2006. She asked the teacher if the school would help her financially
Is this a problem that we are experiencing in the Seventh-day because she thought David needed counseling and she could not
Adventist Church? Have we experienced this type of claim? afford it. The teacher was shocked, but she told David’s mother
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. that she would look into the matter. The teacher asked to have a
Marcus and David were the best of friends. They always conference with Marcus and his parents. Marcus denied David’s
played together and they did not mix well with the other allegations. Marcus’ parents were incensed and said they were
students. They were more quiet and bookish and during recess going to sue the school for slandering their son. David will have
they liked to make a tent by putting an old blanket over the many years to decide if this situation is the cause of problems he
playground bench and reading or playing games together experiences as he progresses through life. In some jurisdictions,
inside their tent. None of the playground supervisors saw any he could file a claim in his forties or fifties for sexual abuse that
problem with the behavior. The boys were encouraged to get occurred in his childhood.
more exercise, but they resisted and were What should the teacher do now? What should she have
allowed to continue playing in their done differently? Could this situation have been prevented?
tent. Eventually, the boys did stop When sexual exploration occurs between children, it is no
playing together, and Marcus joined longer only something that parents discuss with the children
in the more active play with the involved, advising them of good and bad touching and setting
other children. David continued limits on future behavior and activities. It is now perceived as
to read his books and stayed by a reason to file a claim and commence a lawsuit against the
himself as much as possible. organizations and individuals who have the responsibility to
One day, David’s mother supervise the children at our schools and church youth programs.
came to his teacher and Claims history reveals that we need to guard against the
mentioned that David situations that lead to these claims.
had told her that Situations in which claims of peer-on-peer abuse can
Marcus would arise when young people under the age of eighteen are allowed
touch him in unsupervised access to younger children. In some cases these
private areas unsupervised young people have been asked by church or school
when they authorities to watch the children while the adults were involved
were alone elsewhere. Claims also arise in situations where children have
together taken unsupervised bathroom breaks together, or have not been
in the well supervised on the playground and in the classroom. More
tent. tangential claims result when parents ask a respected young
person who has demonstrated leadership in the church or school
to babysit their young children. The parents later allege that they
would have never selected this babysitter if the church had not
demonstrated high regard for the young person by allowing him
or her to assume a leadership role.
In many cases, these claims are not reported until
years after the fact, when the abused child has reached
adulthood. Such claims are often costly and difficult to
defend because the passage of time makes it difficult
Downtown AtlAntA
younger children. in accordance with local child protection laws. Leave the
y We cannot allow children to be out of the sight and/or investigation of the incident to the appropriate authorities.
hearing of adult supervisors. As risk managers, we must y Immediately report all incidents of suspected child
not allow children to go to the bathroom alone, to play abuse to your conference administration and
where they cannot be seen at all times, to sit together with a appropriate insurance representatives.
blanket or coat tented over themselves, to sleep in the same y Remember to protect the rights of the
bed or sleeping bag while camping or on an outing, and to accused as well as the victim. Be extremely
stay in the classroom with another student while the rest of sensitive, remembering these incidents can
the class goes outside. The list could go on, but it is easy to have serious spiritual, emotional and
generalize by reiterating that no children will be out of the legal ramifications for the individuals
eyesight or ear shot of the adult supervisor. involved, your congregation and
y Be aware of and conform to the laws in your jurisdiction the conference. ■
that regulate schools and pre-schools. Many jurisdictions
have regulations precluding the presence of children who Donna Diaz, Esq., Claims Counsel (Riverside,
CA) for Adventist Risk Management, Inc. and
are not registered in the program. In this case, the word Geoffrey Hayton, Esq., Claims Manager
children would include anyone under the age of eighteen. (Riverside, CA) for Adventist Risk Management,
y Always make it clear to employees and volunteers that the Inc. prepared this article.
Seventh-day Adventist Church is committed to conducting
its children and youth ministries with a zero tolerance policy
towards child abuse in any form.
When a situation is reported to our school or church leaders,
it must be reported to local authorities in the same manner as a
situation involving an adult would be reported. The following
checklist for responding to abuse has been previously published
in Solutions, but it bears repeating because we find that there
is reluctance to report child-on-child abuse. However, the
consequences of peer abuse are no different than other abuse
situations, and frequently when young people are involved both
parties involved in the peer-on-peer abuse can get help that will
prevent future situations.
Responding to Incidents of Suspected Child Abuse
y Promptly report suspected incidents of abuse to the
appropriate authorities.
y Protect both children from harm by removing the accused
individual from any further contact with children at your
church until the official investigation has been completed.
y Believe that the child reporting the abuse is telling the
Executive Publisher
Arthur F. Blinci, ARM, EMBA
Editor
Paula L. Webber
Legal Consultant
Layout/Design/Webmaster
ARM resources, please Armand Davila
Illustrator
Communication Assistant
1-888-276-4732 Junica Voilquin
or email:
healthcare@ Solutions (ISSN 1528-7076) is
published monthly by Adventist
B
e committed to making family period of eight years. They looked at social skills and interpersonal
time a priority and plan creative which activities most fostered healthy communication. Games can also
activities. According to experts, the child development: play, story time, provide academic benefits.
myth that a large quantity of time can events with family members and other
Make family time physically active.
be replaced by less frequent quality time factors. Family dinners won out.
The goal for children is to engage
isn’t true. Bigger chunks of time are only y Teens who rarely have family dinners in moderate physical activity for 60
effective if there is already a relationship are three-and-a half times more likely minutes. Make getting more physical
as a result of daily time together. to have abused prescription drugs or activity a family project. Encourage
y Building an environment where an illegal drug other than marijuana everyone to think of fun things to do to
children are free to discuss any topic compared to teens that have frequent get up and moving. Keep up the good
of concern needs to begin while the family dinners. Research shows that work by posting a physical activity log
child is very young. Allow children to more frequent family meals also on the refrigerator.
talk about what they like to do and protect against tobacco, alcohol, Involve the whole family in choosing
their feelings. This will help build low grade point average, depression a vacation destination. Cost and busy
and suicide, particularly among schedules are reasons many families are
trust and acceptance.
unable to take a vacation, but the greatest
y Quality time doesn’t mean devoting adolescent girls.
benefit is the time spent together.
all free time exclusively to a child y Girls who have five or more meals a Relaxation and rest are important
to compensate for the time lost. week with their families are one- to both adults and children. The
Children shouldn’t expect to always third less likely to develop unhealthy purpose of a family vacation is to
be the center of attention. One- eating habits, which can range reconnect and rejuvenate.
on-one time–each parent with from skipping meals to anorexia or When spending time together, set
each child–is important. Getting a abusing diet pills. limits and do not let family rules slide.
child alone, away from the natural y According to a public health survey, Generally, children feel more secure and
competition that comes from siblings 74 percent of teenagers said that they happier when rules and routines
is a great opportunity to get to know enjoy eating meals with their families. are maintained. ■
your child. Research shows that most families
eat dinner four to five evenings Compiled by Jina Kim, MPH, Wellness Coordinator for
a week with about 10 percent of Adventist Risk Management, Inc.
families eating together two or
fewer days a week. Sources: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services-
y Teens who share more family SAMHSA; Washington State University; Ezine
meals tend to eat more fruits, Articles; Ohio State University; In Touch Magazine;
vegetables, grains, protein, and LifeScript; National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute;
calcium-rich foods. Also, they University of Minnesota; and Washington and
Shady Grove Adventist Hospitals.
have a higher intake of iron,
folate, fiber, and vitamins A,
C, E, and B6. At the same The Health Tip of the Week is for educational
purposes only. For additional information, consult
time, they tend to drink
your physician.
fewer soft drinks. Establish
a regular family game night.
Set aside at least one hour
with no outside distractions