Yours In Scouting – a platform for survivors of childhood sexual abuse within the Scout Association
Yours in Scouting has just launched its website. Their goals are to:
- Be Heard
Create space for people to share their experiences of abuse in The Scout Association, and what they want to see change to protect young people in the future.
Build a community of people who have experienced abuse in the Scouts to provide peer support for each other.
- Take Action
Campaign for adult staff and volunteers in uniformed youth organisations to be included in the Position of Trust definition, making it illegal for them to have relationships with 16-17 year olds in their care.
Create a paid Safeguarding Lead position in each Scout county in the United Kingdom to be responsible for monitoring the conduct of volunteers and ensuring that the safeguarding escalation pathway doesn’t go via the District or County Commissioners as these are voluntary roles.
- Create Accountability
Ensure The Scout Association set up a Lived Experience board as part of their governance, who they are accountable to for following through on safeguarding actions.
Require that The Scout Association and Girl Guiding are subject to an inspection regime similar to that of OFSTED inspections for educational institutions.
By encouraging survivors to share their stories, Yours In Scouting aims to expose the true scale of sexual abuse within The Scout Association. Such information will be crucial in its campaign to force the organisation to make real changes to its safeguarding practices to ensure that scouts of today and the future are protected from sexual predators.
The brave testimonies already on the website highlight how just how distressing and damaging child abuse is, and the lifelong harm it can cause a person. Yours In Scouting acknowledges that this may be the first time a person has disclosed the abuse they have suffered, and the Get Help page signposts people to various organisations that offer support to survivors of child abuse.
If you have been affected, and you wish to do so, you can add your story here: Share your Story – Yours In Scouting
Abbie Hickson is an associate solicitor in the Abuse team at Bolt Burdon Kemp. Abbie has helped many people who have suffered sexual abuse by a Scout leader. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse, you may be able to bring a compensation claim against the offender, the Scout Association, or both. If you think you have a claim and would like to find out what to do next, get in touch. You can contact Abbie free of charge and in confidence on 020 7288 4870 or at abbiehickson@boltburdonkemp.co.uk. You can find out more about the Abuse team.
