DISTRICT 5970
ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE
SEXUAL ABUSE RESPONSE
POLICY AND PROCEDURES
STATEMENT OF CONDUCT FOR WORKING WITH YOUTH

Rotary International is committed to creating and maintaining the safest possible environment for all participants in Rotary activities. It is the duty of all Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses, partners, and other volunteers to safeguard to the best of their ability the welfare of and to prevent the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of children and young people with whom they come into contact.
As a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, your welfare is extremely important to us. We have prepared this document for your safety. Please read it carefully. This information may help you better understand what sexual abuse and harassment are and help you protect yourself by preventing potential abusive situations before they happen. In the unlikely event that you are subjected to sexual abuse or harassment, this document will help you understand what you can do about it. Please share this
information with your parents so that they also know that we are committed to your safety and protection.

STUDENT PROCEDURES

If you are sexually or physically abused or harassed or are accused of sexually or physically abusing or harassing another
person, you should follow this procedure:

1. Report the situation immediately to the person with whom you feel most comfortable.  The local host Rotary Club Youth Exchange Counselor, the District Student Protection Officer, the District Youth Exchange Chair, any member of the District Youth Exchange Committee, or the District Governor.  If you are not comfortable talking to a local person, contact a trusted Rotarian at home.  Your call will be received in a sensitive and confidential manner. Each of the above individuals has been trained to deal with this type of situation.
2. If appropriate action is not taken when you report the situation, report it again and continue reporting it until someone takes you seriously. Make sure that it is understood that you are serious.
3. When you are uncomfortable with someone else’s behavior, and you think it is sexual in nature, please trust your judgment and report it to someone else.

ALLEGATION REPORTING GUIDELINES

If you report an allegation of abuse or harassment, these are the guidelines the Rotarians will follow.

Sexual Abuse: Refers to engaging in implicit or explicit sexual acts with a student or forcing or encouraging a student to engage in implicit or explicit sexual acts alone or with another person of any age, of the same sex or opposite sex. This includes but is not limited to:

• Non-touching offenses (such as verbal intimidation, or other indirect suggestions with which you are uncomfortable).
• Indecent exposure (unwelcome revealing of sexual body parts such as breasts or genitals).
• Exposing a student to sexual or pornographic material.
• Sexual assault.
• Sexual Harassment: Refers to sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In some cases, sexual harassment precedes sexual abuse. It is a technique used by sexual predators to desensitize or to groom their victims. Examples include, but are not limited to:
  • Sexual advances; sexually negative words or phrases used to insult someone, jokes, written or oral references to sexual conduct, gossip regarding one’s sex life, comments about one’s sexual activity, deficiencies or prowess.
  • Verbal abuse of a sexual nature.
  • Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures or drawings.
  • Sexual leering or whistling, any inappropriate physical contact such as brushing or touching, obscene language or gestures and suggestive or insulting comments.

Note: More detailed procedures are provided to the Rotarians responsible for students and the Youth Exchange Program and are available upon request from interested parties.

(Directions to Students: Cut out the large section below with the solid lined border. Then make two folds on the dotted lines, folding along the long horizontal line first and along the short vertical line second. This will give you a wallet or pocket-sized card to carry with you.)

Definitions

• Sexual abuse.
  • Engaging in implicit or explicit sexual acts with a young person or forcing or encouraging a young person to engage in implicit or explicit sexual acts alone or with another person of any age, of the same or opposite sex. This includes non-touching offenses, such as indecent exposure or showing a young person sexual or pornographic material. harassment. Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In some cases, sexual harassment precedes sexual abuse and is used by sexual predators to desensitize or groom their victims.  Some examples of sexual harassment include:
    • Sexual epithets, jokes, written or spoken references to sexual conduct, talking about one’s sex life in the  presence of a young person, and comments about an individual’s sexual activity, deficiencies, or prowess.
    • Verbal abuse of a sexual nature.
    • Display of sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or drawings.
    • Sexual leering or whistling.
    • inappropriate physical contact such as brushing or touching obscene language or gestures, and suggestive or insulting comments.

Who should determine if it is abuse or harassment?

Upon hearing allegations, adults should not determine whether the alleged conduct constitutes sexual abuse or sexual harassment. Instead, after ensuring the safety of the student, the adult should immediately report all allegations to appropriate child protection or law enforcement authorities. In some countries, this reporting is required by law.

Allegation Reporting Guidelines

Any adult to whom a Rotary youth program participant reports an allegation of sexual abuse or harassment must follow these reporting guidelines.

1. Receive the report.

• Listen attentively and stay calm. Acknowledge that it takes a lot of courage to report abuse or harassment. Be encouraging; do not express shock, horror, or disbelief.
• Assure privacy but not confidentiality. Explain that you will have to tell someone about the abuse/harassment in order to make it stop and ensure that it does not happen to others.
• Get the facts, but don’t interrogate. Ask questions that establish facts: who, what, when, where, and how.  Reassure the young person that he or she did the right thing in telling you. Avoid asking “why” questions, which may be interpreted as questioning the young person’s motives. Remember that your responsibility is to present the story to the proper authorities.
• Be nonjudgmental and reassure. Avoid criticizing anything that has happened or anyone who may be involved. It’s especially important not to blame or criticize the young person. Emphasize that the situation was not his or her fault and that it was brave and mature to come to you.
• Document the allegation. Make a written record of the conversation, including the date and time, as soon after the report as you can. Try to use the young person’s words and record only what he or she told you.

2. Protect the young person.  Ensure the safety and well-being of the youth program participant by removing him or her from the situation immediately and preventing all contact with the alleged abuser or harasser. Reassure the youth that this is being done for his or her safety and is not a punishment.
3. Report the allegations to appropriate authorities — child protection or law enforcement.  Immediately report all cases of sexual abuse or harassment — first to the appropriate law enforcement authorities for investigation and then to the club and district leadership for follow-through.

In District 5970, the appropriate law enforcement office is the Iowa Department of Human Services or to a law enforcement agency. Call 1-800-362-2178

From The DHS website:

Child Abuse? It's everyone's responsibility to report it now!
 

Download the Guide for Mandatory Reporters in Adobe PDF format.  If you suspect a child under the age of 18 is being abused or neglected call the following numbers:

CALL the Child Abuse Hotline at at 1-800-362-2178 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Please be ready to provide identifying information and the whereabouts of the child. You may remain anonymous.

If you believe the child is in imminent danger, CALL 911 immediately

What is Child Abuse under Iowa Law?

• The Department of Human Services has the legal authority to conduct an assessment of child abuse when it is alleged that:
• The victim is a child.
• The child is subjected to one or more of the eight categories of child abuse defined in Iowa Code section 232.68:
• Physical abuse
• Mental injury
• Sexual abuse
• Child prostitution
• Presence of illegal drugs
• Denial of critical care
• Manufacturing or possession of a dangerous substances (defined in Iowa Code 232.2)
• Bestiality in the presence of a child
• The abuse is the result of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child. 

In most situations, the first Rotary contact is the District 5970 Youth Protection Officer, William D. Werge, who is responsible for seeking the advice of appropriate agencies and interacting with them. If the allegation involves the conduct of this Rotarian, one of the two district youth program chairs or the district governor should be the first Rotary contact. District 5970 will cooperate with police or legal investigations.

District 5970 has researched local, state, and national laws related to sexual abuse and harassment prevention and notes the following legal requirements of which all adult volunteers participating in the program must be aware:
You are required to make a report within 48 hours of the time you suspected the child has been or may be abused or neglected.

4. Avoid gossip and blame.  Don’t tell anyone about the report other than those required by the guidelines. Be careful to protect the rights of both the victim and the accused during the investigation.  District 5970 will maintain the privacy (as distinct from confidentiality) of any accused person by limiting discussions only to those people who need to know. The audience will be limited to the club counselor, club youth exchange officer, district youth exchange officer, district Youth Protection Officer, the District Governor, and appropriate government or law enforcement agents necessary to protect the alleged victim.
5. Do not challenge the alleged offender.  Don’t contact the alleged offender. In cases of abuse, interrogation must be left entirely to law enforcement authorities. In cases of non criminal harassment, the district governor is responsible for follow-through and will contact the alleged offender after the young person has been moved to a safe environment. The district governor may designate this task to a district youth protection officer or district review committee.

Follow-through Procedures

Either the district youth programs chair or district youth protection officer will ensure that the following
steps are taken immediately after an abuse allegation is reported.

1. Confirm that the youth program participant has been removed from the situation immediately and has no contact with the alleged abuser or harasser.
2. If law enforcement agencies will not investigate, the district youth protection officer or district review committee should coordinate an independent review of the allegations.
3. Ensure that the student receives immediate support services.
4. Offer the young person an independent, non-Rotarian counselor to represent his or her interests. Ask social services or law enforcement to recommend  someone who is not a Rotarian or in any way involved with the youth program.
5. Contact the student’s parents or legal guardian. If the student is away from home, the student and his or her parents should decide whether to stay in country or return home. If the student stays in country, written authorization from the student’s parents or legal guardian is required. If the student and the student’s parents choose for the student to return home, consult with police before making travel arrangements. If an investigation is pending, the police may not approve of the student leaving the country.
6. Remove alleged abuser or harasser from all contact with any other young participants in Rotary programs and activities while investigations are conducted.
7. Cooperate with the police or legal investigation.
8. Inform the district governor of the allegation. Either the district governor, district youth protection officer, or other district youth program chair will inform RI of the allegation within 72 hours and provide follow-up reports of steps taken and the status of investigations.
9. After the authorities have completed their investigation, the district must follow through to make sure the situation is being addressed. Specifically, District 5970 will conduct an independent and thorough review of any allegations of sexual abuse or harassment.

Post Allegation Report Considerations

Responding to the needs of the youth program participant District 5970 will adopt a cohesive and managed team approach to supporting a young person after an
allegation report. The youth program participant is likely to feel embarrassed or confused and may become withdrawn.
After a report of harassment or abuse, students may have mixed feelings about remaining on their exchange. If they do choose to stay, they may or may not want to continue their relationship with their hosting Rotary club. In some cases, a student may wish to remain in country but change to a different host club.
Although club members and host families may have trouble understanding how the student is feeling, the student would find it helpful to know that the club continues to be reassuring and supportive. Club members and host families may feel ambivalent about their roles and unclear about their boundaries. However, they need to do whatever is necessary to reassure the student of their support at all times. District 5970 will support this need.

Addressing issues within the club

When addressing an allegation of abuse or harassment, the most important concern is the safety of youth. Club members should not speculate or offer personal opinions that could potentially hinder any police or criminal investigations. Rotarians must not become involved in investigations. Making comments about alleged victims in support of alleged abusers violates both the Statement of Conduct for Working with Youth and Rotary ideals. Comments made against an alleged abuser could lead to a slander or libel claim filed against Rotarians or clubs by the alleged abuser. District 5970 will work to ensure that this requirement is met.