SCARS Says ‘Thanks’ On Their 11th Anniversary
Today [Oct 27] marks the 11th anniversary of of Saving Children and Revealing Secrets [SCARS] being granted charitable status and the organisation extended their thanks to all involved and said they “will never cease in our efforts to protect the innocence of our future generations.”
A spokesperson said, “Today marks 11 years of Saving Children and Revealing Secrets! With sincere gratitude, SCARS acknowledges Minister Michael Weeks and his Permanent Secretary Marva J. O’Brien for granting SCARS charitable Status on October 27, 2011.
“We are exceptionally proud of our community and wish to celebrate the following achievement: Bermuda now has over 12,000 trained ‘Stewards of Children’
- Over 12,000 adults know how to minimize the risk of child sexual abuse
- Over 12,000 adults know to recognize the signs of child sexual abuse
- Over 12,000 adults know how to react responsibly to any disclosure, discovery, or reasonable suspicion of child sexual abuse
“That’s nearly a quarter of Bermuda’s adult population equipped to prevent the sexual harm of children. So, what does this mean? More Protection = Less Molestation!
“Additional successes include:
- The majority of schools mandate prevention education to both their staff and volunteers, and most require recertification every three years
- Many of our sporting organizations, camps, clubs, and churches have been educated in recognizing signs and begun to implement safer polices
- More parents have resources for learning how to talk to their children about body safety
“Sadly, child sexual abuse has not been completely eradicated yet, and therefore we will keep spreading our message to the minds and hearts of those who work with children. Through our partnership with Darkness to Light, we created a new recertification training called ‘Beyond Stewards’ that utilizes Bermuda’s youth leaders, advocates, psychologists and survivors.
“Thank you to our supportive community, generous donors, Board of Directors, past Chairman Jon Brunson, SCARS team, and all SCARS facilitators – both past and present – you made this happen!
“SCARS wishes to finally credit Darkness to Light organization for introducing the educational tools that literally shed light on the darkness of sexual abuse, which has made a monumental impact in our Bermuda community.
“Child sexual abuse leaves ‘scars’ of all nature. We will never cease in our efforts to protect the innocence of our future generations!”
For more information, visit www.scarsbermuda.com.
