Response Plan for Sexual Abuse 

International Swim Coaches Association always strives to do everything possible to protect children.

All the children who attend our activities are considered precious gifts and the trust provided by their parents and guardians must be guarded and not questioned.

• Also see the preventative policies document. When it comes to protecting children from sexual abuse, ISCA’s protection begins with excellent preventative policies.
• This response plan is for any form of sexual abuse against a minor occurs participating in any activity including travel, practice, meet, or event follows.
• This response plan address two contingencies for which sexual abuse can be reported: (a) Sexual abuse by an adult against a minor. (b) Sexual abuse by a minor against a minor.
• This response plan is intended to cover the “initial stages” of response and not the totality of care needed. “Initial stages” are defined as: (a) hearing, (b) reporting, and (c) coaching-and-community-leadership care.

Initial Stages

Hearing

• The parents/guardians and/or minor reporting abuse must be heard and listened to in a loving and sympathetic manner.

Reporting

• Reports are always necessary and must be made immediately to the Department of Social Services, (DSS), Child Protective Services (CPS), and other legal authorities in the county where the minor resides and where incidents may have occurred. (CPS is often a division of DSS).
• The purpose of this policy is to ensure that any case of potential child abuse is properly reported AND that appropriate care can be provided to the family affected. If the legal process would be impeded by care efforts, coaching-and-community leadership is to postpone care efforts outlined below until efforts no longer interfere with the needed legal process.

Coaching-and-Community-Leadership Care

• The minor reporting abuse and the guardians/parent(s) have are connected with the needed resources for their personal care.
• The person accused of abuse has been heard in a caring, respectful, and thorough manner.
• The Coaching-and-Community Leadership has the information necessary to oversee (a) the care for the victim and the victim’s family, as well as (b) discipline and care for the perpetrator (alleged and otherwise), and (c) the general care of the team and league participants.

Sexual Abuse Response Team

In addition to having a written policy for the report of sexual abuse, ISCA has a Sexual Abuse Response Team who is aware of this plan, mindful of legal duties, and prepared to enact the response plan, if and when, called or made aware of any potential situations.

The Sexual Abuse Response Team, an ongoing function of ISCA, consist of at least three people and must consist of both male and female members.

The Sexual Abuse Response Team is to be comprised of individuals who have specific areas of expertise that offer strategic benefits the response process.

• One person with a counseling or social work background.
• One person with a medical background.
• One person with a early childhood education background.
• Additional individuals are able to be included.

The Sexual Abuse Response Team informs the ISCA CEO, and others (authorities, board, league, teams, members and public) as needed throughout the process in order to ensure quality care and valid communication is provided.

The Sexual Abuse Response Team is responsible for:

• Speaking with the person to whom the abuse was initially disclosed and the parents/guardians to ensure that necessary report to CPS was made.
• Advising the family of the minor medical and counseling resources that may be beneficial.
• Communicating with ISCA’s CEO and members on a need to know basis and to assure that ISCA is effectively providing care, discipline, and modifications to ISCA policies.
• Meets with the accused perpetrator of abuse and hear his/her version of what did and did not happen.
• Again, if the legal process would be impeded by these pastoral care efforts, the Sexual Abuse Response Team postpones this step until it would no longer interfere with needed legal procedures.
• Communicate to the alleged perpetrator the expectations of him/her from ISCA and its members until the matter is resolved. A written agreement documenting such expectations is to be signed by the alleged perpetrator, or the refusal to sign will be documented.

Notes:

Any forms completed as part of this process are strictly confidential, unless otherwise required by a legal process and are held as, and treated as such by those involved. Any minor under the age of 18 will be referred to by their initials when in writing.

It is also important to know that abuse is abuse regardless of the gender pairing of the two (or more) individuals involved. Therefore, all allegations should be treated the same, and should be investigated to the fullest extent required under this policy.

During the initial stages of the response as described herein, it is the role of ISCA to ensure that all mandated reports of abuse are made and to fully comply with any criminal investigation that ensues. This is not ISCA “pressing charges” or “declaring someone guilty,” but merely honoring the expectations of the governing authorities as it pertains to abuse/neglect of a minor.

Conclusion

The allegation of sexual abuse creates a difficult and intense time for organizations and coaching. 

Often the web of those affected can extend through several families. Our goal in this policy is to lovingly care for those who have experienced abuse, help them break the silence that compounds the damage of this experience, and point them towards the best available resources to begin healing from this experience.

We cooperate with DSS and any other legal authorities fully in this process and, thereby, allow them to fulfill their roles. In doing so, ISCA also minimizes liability concerns.

We also want to care for those who have committed sexual abuse against a minor enough to confront them on this practice. The recidivism rate of this activity is exceedingly high. If we did nothing, more and more children would be hurt.

Ultimately, we want to be prepared to confront bad actors and comfort suffering in the face of one of the more traumatic experiences in our culture that is endured by some of the weakest and most innocent members of society.

Documentation forms and checklists: