Safe and Sacred Places

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Safe and Sacred Places

• A Presentation for Faculty and Staff
• Saint Ignatius College Preparatory
• October 19th, 2006

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Opening Prayer

• Lord, giver of light, life and hope, you have
  entrusted your children into our care. We
  cherish their love and their energy for life.
  Help us to help them be people of strength,
  character, and integrity. Share with us the
  wisdom that will shape their minds. Share with
  us the love that will guide their hearts. Share
  with us the courage that will shape their future.
  Be the light that guides them and us to your
  glory and goodness.

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In our community, we are called to

• Recognize the various signs of abuse and
  potential risk for abuse.
• Address fears and stereotypes when facing the
  topic of child abuse.
• Plan to maintain the community as a safe and
  sacred space.
• Create a system to respond to youth in a crisis
  situation.
• Be an advocate for the young people in our
  community.

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Defining Abuse

• Child Abuse includes any form of intentional or
  malicious infliction of injury to the detriment
  of a childs physical, moral, mental, or
  spiritual well-being.
• Sexual Abuse of a minor includes sexual
  molestation or sexual exploitation of a minor and
  other behavior by which a minor is used as an
  object of sexual gratification.

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What Every Educator Should Know

• All children are vulnerable to sexual abuse
  regardless of ethnicity, cultural background,
  economic background, or level of intelligence.
• All children have an inherent right to feel
  loved, valued and protected.
• Children are best protected when they have
  knowledge and skills necessary for their safety
  and well-being.
• Often there are no signs of sexual abuse.
• A victim is never to blame for the abuse. The
  victim cannot prevent abuse only the offender
  can.
• There is little evidence that children make false
  accusations of abuse what is more common is a
  childs denying that abuse happened when it did.

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Quiz Time

• Please take a moment to participate in the quiz
  handed out to you.

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Facing the Facts Figures

• A person can be sexually abused without being
  touched.
• Victims of sexual abuse know their perpetrators
  about 90 of the time.
• An ephebophile is an individual who is sexually
  attracted to adolescents aged 14 to 18.
• The most common sex offender is a white married
  male.

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Facing the Facts Figures

• Abuse is often not reported immediately.
• No witnesses.
• Abuser has power and influence over the child.
• Most children and adolescents do not readily tell
  an adult when something serious like sexual abuse
  happens to them.
• Most offenders are not prosecuted and punished.
• Of those who abuse, about 30 percent were abused
  themselves.

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Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act

• Presentation to St. Ignatius College Preparatory
• -
• Faculty In-service
• October 19, 2006
• by
• Tobin Tobin

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Sexual Abuse Sexual Assault Sexual Exploitation
(Penal Code Section 11165.1)

• Sexual abuse means sexual assault or sexual
  exploitation.
• Sexual assault means rape (section 261),
  statutory rape (261.5 (d) perpetrator 21 years
  and older minor under 16), incest (285), sodomy
  (286), lewd or lascivious acts upon a child
  (288), oral copulation (288a), sexual penetration
  (289)or sexual molestation (647.6).

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Sexual Assault

• Sexual Assault includes
• Any penetration, however slight
• Any sexual contact between the genitals of one
  person and mouth or tongue of another
• The touching of the genitals or the intimate
  parts or the clothing covering them of a child
  for purposes of sexual arousal or gratification
• The masturbation of the perpetrators genitals in
  the presence of a child.

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Sexual Exploitation

• Sexual exploitation refers to
• Conduct involving matter depicting a minor
  engaged in obscene acts
• Promoting, aiding or assisting a child to engage
  in prostitution or a life performance involving
  obscene sexual conduct or to pose or model for
  purposes of a film or photograph involving
  obscene conduct.

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Child Abuse or Neglect

• Child abuse or neglect means physical injury
  inflicted by other than accidental means upon a
  child.
• Child abuse or neglect does not include a mutual
  affray between minors.

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Mandated Reporter

• A Mandated Reporter is
• A teacher
• An instructional aide
• A teachers aide or teachers assistant
• An administrative officer of a private school
• Any person who is an administrator or presenter
  or a counselor in a child abuse prevention
  program in any private school
• A marriage, family and child counselor
• An administrator of a youth recreation program
• A clergy member

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Volunteers are not mandated reporters but are
encouraged to obtain training and report known or
suspected instances of child abuse or neglect.
Volunteers
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Reports

• Reports shall be made by mandated reporters to
  any police department or sheriffs department or
  the county welfare department.

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Reasonable Suspicion

• A mandated reporter shall make a report
  whenever, in his or her professional capacity or
  within the scope of his or her employment, has
  knowledge of or observes a child whom he or she
  knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim
  of child abuse or neglect.

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Immediate Report

• The mandated reporter shall make an initial
  report immediately or as soon as is practically
  possible by telephone.
• And the mandated reporter shall prepare and send,
  fax or electronically transmit a written
  follow-up report within 36 hours of receiving the
  information.

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Reasonable Suspicion

• Reasonable suspicion means
• That it is objectively reasonable for a person
  to entertain a suspicion based upon facts that
  could cause a reasonable person in a like
  position drawing upon his or her training and
  experience to suspect child abuse or neglect.

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Penalties

• Any mandated reporter who fails to report is
  guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six
  months in county jail or by a fine of 1000 or
  both.

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Individual Duty

• The reporting duties under this section are
  individual, and no supervisor or administrator
  may impede or inhibit the reporting duties.
• Reporting to an employer, supervisor, school
  principal, school counselor or other person shall
  not be a substitute for making the report to the
  law enforcement agency.

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Reports

• Reports shall include
• Name business address and telephone number of the
  reporter
• The capacity of the reporter
• The information giving rise to the suspicion
• If known, the childs name, address, present
  location and school, grade and class.

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Confidentiality

• The identity of all persons who report shall be
  confidential and disclosed only among the
  agencies receiving or investigating mandated
  reports.
• No person shall disclose the identity of any
  reporter to that persons employer except with
  the employees consent or by court order.

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Immunity

• No mandated reporter shall be civilly or
  criminally liable for any report.
• No permissive reporter shall incur civil or
  criminal liability unless it can be proven that a
  false report was made and the person knew the
  report was false or was made with reckless
  disregard of the truth.

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Interview

• A suspected victim of child abuse may be
  interviewed during school hours, on school
  premises. The child shall be afforded the option
  of being interviewed in private or selecting any
  adult who is a member of the staff of the school
  to be present at the interview.
• The purpose of the staff members presence is to
  lend support to the child. The staff member
  shall not participate in the interview.

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Recognizing the Signs of Sexual Abuse in
Adolescents

• Relating to others primarily in sexual terms
• promiscuity
• sexual experimentation
• heightened interest in all things of a sexual
  nature
• distorted view of sex
• Secrecy
• pronounced inability to trust others
• Sleep disturbances
• Depression
• Self-injurious behaviors
• Somatic complaints with no organic cause
• Repetitive sexual themes in writing/poetry

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What you can do when you suspect abuse at S.I.

• Consult with the counselor of record.
• You can expect the counselor to assist in the
  following ways
• Consulting with Child Protective Services (CPS)
• Addressing the issue with the student
• Phone call/conference with parent
• Filing a CPS report
• Informing administration when appropriate

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Making the Report

• Suspected Child Abuse Report forms available in
  the counseling center.
• Duty to report within 36 hours is the
  responsibility of the individual.
• Its our job to report, not investigate.
• Identity of the reporter is confidential.
• Not required to tell student or parent

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Working with CPS

• They decide to whether or not to investigate.
• It helps to report as much information as
  possible.
• You can expect a follow-up report stating the
  action taken.

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What would you do if?