We are part of a broken system.
At best, this system fails to prevent the sexual abuse of students.
At worst, it enables abuse to occur.
There are steps we can take as school employees immediately.
1. Attend a session on misconduct prevention.
Research shows time and time again that the safest schools are those with high quality sexual misconduct prevention training. When every adult in the building can spot the signs of grooming and abuse and are ready to report them, it creates a Culture of Safety for students.
Find out more about The Elephant Alliance professional development sessions for your school district or organization.
2. Learn everything you can about grooming.
Grooming is the behavior of a predatory teacher to set the stage for abuse. If we can spot grooming and intervene, we can stop sexual misconduct before a student is abused. Go to this page with resources about the grooming process to learn more today.
3. Be ready to report.
Reporting suspicious behavior can feel complicated. The process of making a report is simple, but the emotional process involved in reporting a colleague can be brutal. There are resources here to help you navigate the reporting process. Reporting grooming and abuse to an authority to intervene is imperative to preventing the sexual abuse of students.