If Hockey Canada is Wrong...Who is Right?
The news is a buzz with concerns over Hockey Canada's liability and payout funds for allegations of sexual abuse.
Headlines suggest that Canadians are angry and disappointed. Even shocked.
At Priority Kids, this news is no surprise. We can see through our interactions in the community, from speaking with caregivers, and working with youth-serving organizations, that people don't know who to follow when it comes to sexual abuse prevention.
What we see OFTEN, is that organizations look to other (larger) organizations to see what policies they have in place. Which means that many organizations are following Hockey Canada's lead.
At Priority Kids, we are asking organizations to STOP copying other organizations and start utilizing evidence-based BEST PRACTICES.
Prevention Strategy
☑️ Staff screening process
☑️ Behaviour guidelines
☑️ Response policy for:
inappropriate behaviour
breaches in policy
discoveries, disclosures and suspicions
We can see from Hockey Canada, that large, national and well-funded organizations do not necessarily have the best prevention strategies.
BEST PRACTICES are grossly underutilized. 34% of kids in Canada are sexually abused by age 18. This rate CAN (EASILY) be reduced. Just because an organization has a set of policies, does NOT mean that they are effective.
At Priority Kids, we've created a tool to help organizations compile their prevention policies into a single Sexual Abuse Prevention Strategy. We help organizations to identify the BEST PRACTICES that they have in place, and help them map out next steps to reduce gaps.
Let's stop the madness of ASSUMING that large organizations have the best policies.
It's up to people like you to encourage local organizations to assess their prevention strategy based on CURRENT BEST PRACTICES.
Will you help a youth-serving organization 'walk the talk' when it comes to protecting kids? Ask your local organization's representative to apply for this free offer today.
What are we waiting for? Let's use the BEST PRACTICES that are proven effective so that children can be protected from sexual abuse now.