By Kimberlee Norris and Gregory Love
When the school year winds down and temperatures heat up, parents begin to think about summer activities for their children. As one of the most iconic summer pastimes in America, summer camp is at the top of the list.
In evaluating Christian camps, parents often look at programs offered, the location of the facility, and overall cost. But a critical element parents should consider is this: What is this camp doing to protect my child from sexual abuse?
Why are children at risk at some summer camps?
Whenever children are gathered, the risk of sexual abuse is real. Though summer camps fill an important role in American culture, camps, even Christian camps, are not without risk.
Campers spend significant time with camp staff members and volunteers — generally with no direct parental supervision. Commonly, campers do not have direct access to simple communication with a parent. Parents enrolling a child into camp expect their child to be instructed and supervised by camp personnel; at the same time, children are taught and expected to respect and obey staff members and counselors. Many campers grow to respect, trust and even idolize camp counselors and staff members. This tie is even stronger when perceived spiritual ties exist. Campers are commonly taught to demonstrate ‘camp loyalty’ — putting the camp and fellow campers over personal needs or concerns. This combination of factors can create an environment that can be manipulated by a person with ill intent.
In some contexts, basic camp activities introduce circumstances that might increase the opportunity for inappropriate or predatory behavior. Risk increases when an activity involves changing of clothes, use of showers and changing rooms, and overnight stays; all are common camp experiences. There is heightened risk when camp activities involve touch and physical contact, such as sports camps (especially when the sport involves contact, body positioning, spotting and lifting) and activities involving harnesses or personal safety equipment worn on the body. Risk increases when a camp features water activities, shared rooms, group bathrooms or showers, and facilities or geography offering areas less easily seen or supervised.
Christian parents often think sexual abuse doesn’t happen in faith-based contexts such as church or Christian camps, but sexual abuse is no respecter of any religious denomination or creed; it isn’t limited to any racial, ethnic or socio-economic class. Sexual abuse can happen anywhere.
“Many campers grow to respect, trust and even idolize camp counselors and staff members. This tie is even stronger when perceived spiritual ties exist. Campers are commonly taught to demonstrate ‘camp loyalty’ — putting the camp and fellow campers over personal needs or concerns. This combination of factors can create an environment that can be manipulated by a person with ill intent.”
What can camps do to prevent sexual abuse?
The current camp climate is such that parents and stakeholders desire greater assurance of camper protection and safety. In response, MinistrySafe is working with Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA) to create the Camper Protection Workshop, an instructional event providing cutting-edge resources to camp leaders, allowing member camps to ‘raise the bar’ where child sexual abuse and child protection are concerned.
Christian camps are prolific, varied in scope and size — and many are led by excellent leaders who are aware of sexual abuse risk and committed to proactive child protection. Some camp leaders, however, demonstrate a serious lack of understanding of sexual abuse and sexual abusers. If program leaders lack an understanding of the nature of this risk, they cannot effectively address it. MinistrySafe and CCCA are working to equip Christian camps with resources that protect campers while safeguarding the mission of Christ-based camping programs.
Common misconceptions
Camp leaders commonly cite background checks as a primary measure for protecting children. While background checks are necessary, more than 90% of sexual abusers have no past record to check.
Every camp should make a reasonable effort to obtain records concerning the past criminal behavior of any applicant, but a background check alone is insufficient to provide protection; prevention requires a system.
An effective camp safety system must be based on known facts related to sexual abuse and sexual abusers. The foundation of an effective system includes effective training of staff members and volunteers, such that staff members have ‘eyes to see and ears to hear’ the grooming behaviors used by abusers.
Effective training includes crucial information regarding abuser characteristics and the abuser’s grooming process; the process by which an abuser selects and prepares a child for inappropriate sexual touch. As well, effective training describes common grooming behaviors, warning signs of abuse, and reporting responsibilities.
With good training, and policies that address common grooming behaviors, camp employees and volunteers are better equipped to reduce the risk of sexual abuse at camp. At the same time, effective training required as part of the onboarding process, before an applicant arrives at camp, communicates that protective barriers have been raised, giving those with the wrong motive an opportunity to ‘opt out’ of the program.
Conversations with children before attending camp
Parents must evaluate camp safety measures meant to address sexual abuse, but it’s also important for parents to communicate with their kids before they head off to camp.
Abusers groom a child for abuse, and children who are naïve or uninformed become easy targets for the abuser. As parents, we must teach our children that there are individuals who have the wrong motive when they touch, and that no one should touch them in places that a bathing suit covers. If such a touch does occur, teach your child to tell you or another trusted adult immediately.
Developmentally appropriate conversations about sex, using real names of body parts, are an important aspect of sexual development and should occur early and often. Even a very young child can learn that she has the right to determine with whom she is physically affectionate, and some touches, in some areas, are meant for adults only, not for children.
These conversations should be natural and normal, using real-life situations. When our daughter was 3, we adopted a cat. Not long after, to our surprise, she had kittens. This provided a natural opportunity to talk about ‘mommy cats,’ ‘daddy cats’ and ‘where kittens come from.’
Honest discussions with children about their bodies, comfortable touch, and the right to say NO, can protect your child when you aren’t present. These discussions, added to a parent’s ‘due diligence’ in evaluating camp programs, can ensure a summer camp experience that’s safe and fun for your child.
Kimberlee Norris and Gregory Love are partners in the Fort Worth, Texas law firm of Love & Norris and founders of MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems, providing child sexual abuse expertise to ministries and child-serving organizations worldwide. After representing victims of child sexual abuse for more than two decades, Love and Norris saw recurring, predictable patterns in predatory behavior. MinistrySafe and Abuse Prevention Systems grew out of their desire to place proactive tools into the hands of ministry leaders.
Love and Norris teach the only graduate-level course focusing exclusively on Preventing Sexual Abuse in Ministry Contexts, as Visiting Faculty at Dallas Theological Seminary.
