Youth Protection Policy to Prevent Child Abuse and Harassment.

It is the duty of all Rotarians, Rotarians spouses, partners, and other volunteers to prevent the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse of children and young people.

A district must adopt following guidelines in order to be certified under RIs Youth Exchange Certification Program.

 RI has a Zero-tolerance policy

against abuse and harassment. a) Zero tolerance means that our district considers even one incident of abuse or harassment to be unacceptable, and commits to treating every incident as a serious matter.

 An independent and thorough

investigation must be made into any claims of sexual abuse or harassment. Any adult involved in a Rotary Youth Program against whom an allegation of sexual abuse or harassment is made, must be removed from all contact with youth until the matter is resolved.

 Any allegation of abuse must

be immediately reported to the appropriate law enforcement agency, in accordance with RIs Zero-tolerance Policy.

 A club must terminate the

membership of any Rotarian who admits to, is convicted of or is otherwise found to have engaged in sexual abuse or harassment. A nonRotarian who admits to, is convicted of, or is otherwise found to have engaged in sexual abuse or harassment must be prohibited from working with youth in a Rotary context.

 A person who is accused but later

cleared of charges, may apply to be reinstated to participate in youth programs. Careful selection of all individuals involved in Rotary Youth Exchange programs should be of paramount concern.

 All adults (Rotarian and non-Rotarians)

involved in the program, including but not limited to committee members, host families, club counselors, and others, must complete and sign a Youth Volunteer Affidavit and agree to undergo a criminal background check and reference check. The sending and receiving Club or District must provide Abuse Prevention and Awareness Training for both -students and parents or legal guardians.

Education and prevention are the best remedies for the RYE Program.

Students, Rotarians and parents need to know that this can happen, what they can do to help prevent it and what to do if it happens.

 An educational / preventive approach should not scare anyone into withdrawing from the program. It needs to be done in a straightforward manner, putting the potential problem in as realistic a way as possible but there is no evidence that the risks are any higher for an exchange student than a student who doesnt go abroad. We should not blow the issue out of proportion.

Unique Problems related to R.Y.E Cultural differences make universal definitions of sexual abuse extremely difficult to establish. Cultural stereotyping can expose exchange students to abuse that other students from the host culture would not be subjected to.

 It is common to be defensive
and protective of ones own rotary club, and the people involved. When allegations of abuse within ones own program surface, there can be a tendency to deny, minimize or blame the victim.

The RYE program, as a part of its policy, should make a commitment to students concerned about being sexually abused. This commitment should be that:

We are committed to insuring the safety of every student. We will take any allegations or reports of sexual abuse seriously.

 Students should continue reporting their concerns until someone listens seriously. No student will be sent home because of sexual abuse, unless they wish it or their safety is in question.