CHILD PROTECTION POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR

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SEVENTH-DAYADVENTISTCHURCH

IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

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STATEMENT OF INTENT

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DUTY OF CARE

The church community has a moral and legal responsibility for the care, protection and safety of children when children are on church property or involved in church sponsored activities. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Providing appropriate and safe places and spaces (see OH&S policy)*
  • Proper planning and implementation of programs (see Children’s Ministries policy)*
  • Having Behaviour Management policies (see Children’s Ministries policy)*
  • Being adequately insured (see Insurance policy)*
  • Providing suitable personnel (see Screening of Volunteers in this policy)
  • Informing all adult church members of their duty of care responsibilities

*your local church may need to write these policies

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WHAT IS CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT?

The Children Protection Act 1993 establishes a reporting process whereby people who believe, on reasonable grounds, that a child is being, or is in danger of being abused and/or neglected, can give information to the CYFS so that action can be taken to protect the child. The Act defines "child" for the purposes of that Act to mean a person who is under the age of 18 years. Information provided to the CYFS concerning a child who has been or is in danger of being abused, or is in need of care, is a notification.

Mandatory reporting is the statutory requirement that professionals engaged in certain occupations report known or suspected cases of child abuse to the official authority prescribed in the legislation, namely the CYFS.

Under the provisions of the Children Protection Act 1993

(a)a teacher in any educational institution (including a kindergarten);

(b)or any other person who is an employee of, or volunteer in, a Government department, agency or instrumentality, or a local government or nongovernment agency, that provides health, welfare, education, child care or residential services wholly or partly for children, being a person who—

(i) is engaged in the actual delivery of those services to children; or

(ii)holds a management position in the relevant organisation the duties of which include direct responsibility for, or direct supervision of, the provision of those services to children

whosuspects on reasonable grounds that a child has been or is being abused or neglected; and when the suspicion is formed in the course of the person's work (whether paid or voluntary) or of carrying out official duties, must notify CYFS of that suspicion as soon as practicable after he or she forms the suspicion.

Child abuse is a term commonly used to refer to a range of offences under the Criminal LawConsolidation Act 1935, which result in harm to a child victim or involve behaviours to which a childcannot give consent.The laws concerning offences in sexual assault are sexual intercourse, indecent assault and acts of indecency. Sexual intercourse under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 is defined as:

"sexual intercourse" includes any activity (whether of a heterosexual or homosexual nature) consisting of or involving:

(a)penetration of the labia majora or anus of a person by any part of the body of another person or by any object; or

(b)fellatio; or

(c)cunnilingus.

A child cannot consent to behaviours perpetrated on themselves which are offences under the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SUSPECT A CHILD HAS BEEN SEXUALLY ABUSED

Any person who makes a notification or furnishes information to CYFS is afforded the following protection by law:

  • the making of the notification or the furnishing of the information shall not be held to be a breach of professional etiquette or ethics or a departure from accepted standards of professional conduct
  • no liability or defamation is incurred for the person making the notification or the furnishing of the information
  • the notification or the furnishing of the information shall not constitute grounds for civil proceedings for malicious prosecution or for conspiracy

Steps to follow when you suspect a child has been sexually assaulted

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. ______

CONFIDENTIALITY

Confidentiality should never be used as an excuse not to act. Confidentiality is not about secrecy. It is an assurance that written and spoken information is protected from being shared with unauthorised persons, or for a purpose other than that for which it was collected. It is the handling of information with responsibility.

RESPONDING TO DISCLOSURES OF SEXUAL ABUSE

  1. Listen to the child’s story and try to remain calm
  2. Let the child know,they are believed, it was not their fault, that you know of other children this has happened to, adults sometimes do wrong things, they were right to tell, you are glad they told
  3. Explain to the child what you are going to do
  4. Don’t make promises you can’t keep
  5. Do not leave the child alone
  6. Notify Department of Human Services

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SELECTING VOLUNTEERS

TO WORK WITH CHILDREN

“Trust in God – Screen all others”

  1. ______
  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
  6. ______
  7. ______

Beware of volunteers with inappropriate attitudes to children, who have an interest in spending time alone with children, have an inappropriate interest in working with children of a particular age or gender and have limited adult social networks.

GUIDELINES FOR APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

WITH CHILDREN (ARENAS OF SAFETY)

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  2. ______
  3. ______
  4. ______
  5. ______
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RESOURCES

DEPARTMENT COMMUNITY, YOUTHAND FAMILY SERVICES – 131 478

ECPAT PO Box 451MELBOURNE 3205

Mission SA

Mission SA (formerly Adelaide City Mission) is a non-denominational Christian welfare agency which has been caring for people since 1867. The organisation provides physical, emotional and spiritual help to those people in need: the homeless, the unemployed, the drug addicted, the abused, the despairing and the lonely.

NAPCAN – Phone 02 92110244

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