PAAU Child Protection Policy
Our Goals
The Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising seeks to have an active role in the process of creating safety and eliminating child sexual abuse in movement spaces. By implementing the principles and practices below, we aim to make an impact in our communities by employing social analysis and critique of “power over” dynamics and relationships, facilitating community education regarding dynamics of violence, developing an understanding of trauma, healing, and community-based interventions, and using community organizing to change social and political institutions, norms, and access to resources. We want to promote restorative and transformative justice practices instead of continuing cycles of harm that flourish in social movements.
Guiding Principles of Child Protection
The Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising recognizes these guiding principles when considering how to best protect children from harm and abuse:
As a collective, we have zero tolerance for child abuse. Harm against a child of any kind should not, and will not be accepted in any capacity amongst our spaces.
Children deserve to have their rights, autonomy, and self-determination protected. We recognize we live in a society where ageism often silences much-needed change, simply because it is coming from a child.
We pledge to place the child as the first priority when dealing with all identified or suspected cases of child abuse or mistreatment.
We will empower and educate children on their rights and adults on the steps they can take to protect children.
We must integrate child protection into all aspects of our organizational strategy, structures, and work practices.
Restorative and transformative practices to reduce harm are the most consistent and effective ways in which we can keep children safe in our spaces.
This policy is subject to updates, additions, and adjustments as we learn and grow as an organization.
Transformative Justice
We aim to center survivor safety, healing, and agency.
PAAU's actions will reflect our concern for the accountability and transformation of those who have committed acts of abuse.
Our conduct and actions will work to further community responses and accountability.
We are concerned about individual acts of violence, mistreatment, and abuse as well as the communities and structures that create and perpetuate cycles of harm.
PAAU approaches abusive circumstances through an anti-carceral lens. Unless otherwise determined, PAAU will not involve police or other forces who frequently commit and sustain state-sanctioned harm, as doing so would invite further harm into the lives of ALL parties involved. Instead, we will employ efforts to handle the situation internally and directly and provide community support, as well as implement child advocacy groups and resources when appropriate.
We will not interfere if the victim or guardian wishes to involve the police, as they are within their rights to do so.
Respecting Self-Determination
We are determined to maintain confidentiality.
Our organization will confirm what name and pronoun we should use when speaking to them and their parents. For the privacy of the child, we will fully oblige if different names are to be used. They have the freedom to change their answer at any time.
We will not publish an underage person's last name, address, school, or anything else that can be used to locate them.
We will try to address any harm done to a child in our presence or out of our presence, keeping in mind the intersections of their identities.
PAAU Physical Spaces & Events
PAAU will enforce a “rule of three”, which means always having at least two adults or two minors when interacting, and never placing a minor in a position where they are alone with one adult.
Participants will maintain proper physical distance, regardless of age.
Underage participants will not leave the sight of others in the group.
PAAU will implement specific and clear instructions about the use of different rooms and spaces, especially in the Activist House or other lodging.
When possible we will have conversations where a minor is present in public spaces.
We will employ our best efforts to use our bodies as a shield for underaged group members at protests/events should the environment become unsafe.
Children 15 and under must provide written consent from a parent or guardian in order to participate in PAAU events. Children 16 and 17 will be considered on a case-by-case basis to determine if written or verbal permission is required. PAAU acknowledges that older children sometimes live alone or are otherwise not connected to family in a way that provides access to gaining permission, and we will strive to work with these cases in the most appropriate and equitable manner.
Emergency contact information must be provided by all PAAU event participants, regardless of age.
Any person with a criminal history that involves offenses enacted against a child will not be allowed in PAAU spaces. Any past legal history of child-on-child violence will be situationally reviewed and at the leadership's discretion.
PAAU Digital Spaces
PAAU will enforce a “rule of three” in digital spaces as well, which means always having at least two adults or two minors when interacting, and never placing a minor in a position where they are alone with one adult. This means that when communicating via Signal or other messaging apps, group chats should be utilized with three or more people included.
Any person with a criminal history that involves offenses enacted against a child will not be allowed in PAAU spaces. Any past legal history of child-on-child violence will be situationally reviewed and at the leadership's discretion.
Education, staffing, and empowerment
It is our responsibility to make sure underage activists know what abuse looks like and feel comfortable telling us if it occurs to them or others.
Our organization will maintain a list of helpful resources for children going through an abuse situation(s) and will make it available to those in our spaces.
PAAU will train our staff members in how to spot abuse, how to respond when they are told about abuse, and what steps they can take to keep children safe.
Part-time and full-time staff members will be required to take a Child Protection Training course within the first 6 months of their employment.
New staff members will be required to submit either a character reference or consent to additional interview questions in order to screen for potentially harmful situations.
Updated April 16, 2024