May 28, 2021

It's been several years since I've posted on this blog.  Every time I search for it, it takes several hours to find the login. You would think by now, I would save this somewhere very precious to me. But, probably subconsciously, I'm trying to make it all go away. The reality is that it's not going anywhere. This is a part of who I am and how God has allowed me to suffer, much like Christ, and for that, I am thankful. If you don't understand what I mean by that, please talk to me.  It's your life!  

Tonight, I've been asked to speak to those who call into the National Association of Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse http://www.naasca.org/. The call-in number is 646 / 595-2118. It starts at 5:00 pm PAC or 7:00 pm CDT/8:00 pm EDT.  Hope you will join us. 

What has happened since I last posted? So much has happened.  ASIJ has taken so many steps to protect its students. Just yesterday, we received this report:

Signing on with a safeguarding information management system. The school made a commitment to invest in CPOMS, a child protection database for students of concern. This will be most used by the SG Coordinator and counselors to improve and secure our records, communication, and follow-up with cases, but it will also be an additional way teachers can report concerns.

Re-purposing the SG Task Force to become the SG Advisory Committee. With many of the objectives of the original SG Task Force completed, it felt right to rethink the objectives of the group. This year the group got smaller but more focused. New objectives include advising the SG Coordinator on upcoming projects and reviewing one actual case per meeting. The cases were changed to protect identities, but the exercise has been successful as a way to audit our internal policies and procedures.

Revising the Code of Conduct and Professional Standards. Both the SG Code of Conduct and Professional Standards for Teachers and Leaders have been revised this year and are linked for the first time. This creates a wraparound of accountability of teacher and school leaders to fulfill their responsibility around duty to care, recognize, and report any concerns.

Child Abuse Forensic Interview Training.  I completed a 35-hour child abuse forensic interview training certification course and created a subsequent training for our K-12 Counseling Team and other school leaders. This training reinforced adult interviewing skills when addressing reports or disclosures of abuse, so the most accurate information is received through best practice and trauma-informed questioning.

Strategic Design Framework. The school has recently developed a White Paper that outlines the direction of the school and learning framework, and safeguarding is woven through the framework. This includes a new Board Policy on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Explicitly keeping safeguarding as part of the direction of the school makes us unique from many other international schools, where child protection policies and protocols exist but are not part of the vision. This work started with your voices and advocacy many years ago, and now, as part of the updated strategic vision, it will live on at ASIJ for many years.

Other exciting news includes our 2021 Strength & Courage Award winner, Alana Xiang. Alana was chosen for her exceptional level of courage, character, and compassion in advocating for greater awareness and equity around gender orientation and identity at ASIJ. As the first out transgender student in the HS, Alana set a high bar for living one's true self and holding individuals and systems accountable for awareness and equal treatment. Alana will graduate this year and leaves ASIJ a better place.

If nothing else came about, this is worth it. So many institutions could learn one thing:  Listen to the abused and act. Don't carry it out until someone sues you.  There are so many things you can do to mitigate a lawsuit.  Currently, the Louisiana State University (LSU), beloved by many, is going through a sexual abuse case because of how the school handled the allegations.

If you are affiliated with an institute, whether secular or religious, more than likely, someone has sexually abused a child or a vulnerable adult. Admit it and express sincere regret and do something about it.  It will save you a lot of money and integrity.  

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of abuse there is. Just recently, one of my colleagues, who started reading my blog, came into my office and shared that her little brother had been sexually abused by a cousin.  She shared just a little about how that impacted her family.  

Statistics show that one in four females and one in six males have been victims of child sexual abuse.  My conclusion is that the statistic is liberal.  I think it's more like 50% of all children have experienced some type of sexual abuse.