Child Abuse Prevention in Church
Safety Measures for Sunday School Teachers
Church should be a safe place to bring our children. Read some tips on how to make sure your Sunday School is a welcoming place for the children you are entrusted to.
Wouldn't it be wonderful to just be able to teach children in Sunday School without worrying about anything going awry? Sure, it would. But, unfortunately the times that we are living in do not allow us to do this. We have to think about this subject and discuss it because reports of child abuse taking place in churches across the world are climbing in numbers.
One incident, or even one allegation of child abuse can literally close your church doors. Here are some steps to take to help you strengthen your procedures.
Two-Adult Policy
This is perhaps the easiest policy to set in place. Adults who are left alone with children have greater access to harming them. By making it a rule that there must be at least two adults present in a children's classroom should eliminate any such actions. This rule not only protects the children, but also protects the adults who are working with the children. If a child ever made an untruthful accusation, both adults have a witness as to their actions.
Open-Door Policy
If it is not possible to have two adults in a room at one time, enforce an open-door policy. This simply means to leave doors open during class at all times. In order for someone to abuse a child, they need privacy. This should alleviate any tendency to abuse a child. If there is a reason for a door to be shut, such as for noise, fear of escaping children, and so forth, plan to have an adult drop in on the class unannounced throughout each session.
Bathroom Rules
When a child needs to use a bathroom, the ideal situation would be for a same-sex adult to accompany the child. An adult should never enter a stall with a child. Simply state, "If you need me, I will be waiting right outside the door." If you are working with young children, the bathroom door should be propped open so that the adult and the child can be seen.
Background Checks
You cannot just look at a person and say, "Yep, you're a child molester," or "You look nice enough." Most child molesters are all too good at disguising themselves as someone good and trustworthy. Numbers do not lie, and the number of incidents of child abuse in church is climbing all too rapidly. The safest thing to do is have potential workers fill out an information form that gives you the right to have your law enforcement agency run a background check before letting them come onboard. The form must include the individual's Social Security Number.
Teacher Training
Kids have reversed the roles a bit on more than a few occasions, where they will accuse a perfectly innocent adult of abusing them. This causes a lot of grief and unwanted attention to a church. Train your teachers and workers about how to conduct themselves in classrooms, on bathroom trips, and in other situations when working with children to protect themselves against unwanted accusations.
With all this said, our primary role as teachers, and more importantly Christians, is to teach children about the Lord. This is a privilege for us. Along with this privilege comes the responsibility of keeping them safe while they are in our care. A few extra minutes of preparation can mean the difference between an enjoyable Sunday School environment and a disaster waiting to happen. Stay prepared!
