Many people who work in camps, coaching youth sports, or volunteer with kids will often feel that these child protection policies are strict. Staff cannot text kids individually, should not be alone with a camper behind a closed door, must give side hugs instead of full hugs, and cannot give kids rides home without another staff member present. These policies can look strange and often feel like overkill to the people working in these environments that have already an established level of trust and mentorship. Policies like these are among some of the most common. effective ways average people can help prevent child abuse from occurring.
After the abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar, it was easy to see the importance of such protections. Many reports of inappropriate and abusive behavior had previously been reported, and, at no time did the organization take action to eliminate this conduct. As a result, there have been increased efforts by youth athletics organizations to establish stricter measures in abuse prevention, including SafeSport training. Coaches, volunteers, and athletic personnel must be trained in warning signs of grooming, adhere to professional boundaries when working with minors, and report suspicious conduct. The U.S. Center for SafeSport has indicated that child abuse prevention depends on reducing the ability of adults to isolate or manipulate children.
In the Boy Scouts of America, a similar reckoning occurred as multiple abuse allegations over decades showed how easily abusers can exploit a trust-based environment. Investigations revealed that abusers often used camping trips, mentorship programs, and isolated activities as opportunities to get access to children while the organizations failed to act on warning signs. In the aftermath of abusive incidents, youth protection policies were strengthened, including two-deep leadership, separate sleeping arrangements, and limits on one-on-one interactions between adults and children. Although this policy may be inconvenient, it exists because many instances of abuse occur when adults have unchecked access to children.
Some of the policies put into place through SafeSport may seem extreme. For example, there is a general prohibition against one-on-one electronic communication between coaches and athletes, regulation of locker room supervision, and an outright ban on adults being alone with children in hotel rooms, cars, or practice areas. These policies address one of the most common patterns seen in abuse cases, which is that of grooming. Grooming often begins with minor boundary violations that gradually become the norm; for example, an adult giving one child preferential treatment, privately messaging them, or making excuses to isolate them from other children. By creating stricter boundaries early, organizations make that behavior easier to identify and harder to hide.
In addition to sports organizations, background checks, mandatory reporting training, and “two-adult” supervision policies are being implemented in various settings, such as summer camps, schools, churches, and daycare facilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that providing safe and structured settings for children is one of the most effective ways to decrease child abuse and neglect. These policies do not exist because most adults are dangerous; they exist because abuse has been allowed to occur because of silence, secrecy, and institutional indifference.
Of course, no one system can be perfect. Some believe mandatory reporting laws create false allegations; others, that they make normal adult-child interactions appear suspect. Others are offended by regulations that imply a presumption of guilt before a crime has occurred. This is an area that merits discussion; however, the historical pattern of abuse indicates that adults have tended to ignore signs of potential abuse because they did not want to overreact. The typical problem in several instances of significant abuse (in gymnastics, youth organizations, schools, etc.) is not too much caution or concern, but rather too little caution or concern.
Very few individuals do more than call out an entire nation or do something about an abuser in a “movie-like way.” There are a number of things that everyday adults can do that affect child abuse prevention: follow rules for supervising kids, know the difference between a boundary and crossing one, report suspicious behavior, and take training seriously. Child abuse prevention isn’t typically characterised by heroism; it’s usually characterised by frustration, accountability, and conversations that make people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, those little bits of protection may be the very things that protect another child from being in the news.
