In my most recent posting, titled A Cautionary Note, I talked about the need for Rotarians to be cautious in dealing with youth. Over the last week I have received a lot of comments and thoughts on the topic. I can say the responses were almost 100% in agreement with some feeling I was not strident enough in my counsel.
One stream of comments said that Rotary International has taken this issue very seriously. I agree with that thought and would add that I was involved in the formulation of the RI Abuse and Harassment Prevention Training Manual. This manual is available from RI (775-EN) or from this website by clicking here.
As an added cautionary note I would mention that on the eigth page numbered page 2 the manual; states that, “Only about 1 percent to 4 percent of sexual abuse allegations prove to be false.” That statement is credited to the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, at www.ncptsd.org.
This is a statement that bothers me for this reason. I am the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Guided Discoveries which is a 501(c)3 corporation that operates camps in Southern California. We deal with approximately 50,000 young people every year. Guided Discoveries is a member of the American Camp Association, the largest organization of camp operators who have a great deal of interest in youth protection.
The American Camp Association tells us that because of the nature of the problem there is no way to accurately document how many claims by young people are true or false. I am concerned that the 1-4% number might give Rotarians a false sense of security that if they don’t misbehave no one will say they did. So I continue to believe that all Rotarians need to be cautious in protecting themselves from wrongful accusations whether they are malicious or simply a misunderstanding.