Child Protection

Serve and Protect the Children
I need not inform you of the many troubling incidents which we have all read in the papers and have seen in the news of child abuse cases on all levels: sexual, mental and physical. To say these are unsettling reports, making us all cringe, would be an understatement.
For Kiwanis International and the New York District, protection of our youth has always been of paramount importance and now even more so through a new Youth Protection program which is being introduced this year.
As Youth Protection Manager for the New York District, it is my job to get the word out on the guidelines we are asking every one of our clubs to follow to protect our kids. It is so important that Kiwanis with 300,000 youths who are part of our organization, are cared for with the proper adult supervision.
Some hard and difficult facts to consider as reported by ChildHelp (http://www.childhelp.org) an organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse:

• A report of child abuse is made every 10 seconds.
• More than 90 percent of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way.
• About 30 percent of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
• 14 percent of all men in prison and 36 percent of women in prison in the United States were abused as children, about twice the frequency seen in the general population.
• Abused children are 25 percent more likely to experience teen pregnancy.
• As many as two-thirds of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused or neglected as children.

Kiwanis' motto is to "serve the children of the world." We must and will lead the way on the topic of youth protection. In the coming months, you will be hearing more and more on this topic as education is provided across the entire district to raise awareness and make sure we do all we can to ensure a Kiwanis youth's experience is safe.
As a start, I encourage you to visit www.kiwanis.org and search under the words "youth protection." There you will find a plethora of materials to review including guidelines for protecting our youth. A good start is also to have background checks performed for anyone in your club who participates in Service Leadership Programs. You can find affordable solutions related to this topic at www.kiwanisone.org/backgroundchecks.
Let us all as Kiwanians commit ourselves to proactive protection of our youth. So, much good that we do can become undone by not paying close attention to this topic. Worst yet, a child's life could be irreparably damaged forever.
 

Column Posted on Web Site December 29, 2013