MK SafetyNet Questionnaire for Mission Boards regarding Allegations of Abuse

Note: this questionnaire has been sent to 25 different mission agencies and denominations. We will post their replies as they come in.

1. Does your organization have a policy regarding the handling of allegations or suspicion of abuse of children in schools operated by you or schools where the children of your missionaries are sent?
2. If you have a written policy, would you provide us with a copy of that policy?
3. How does your organization define abuse?
4. Is your policy disseminated to the missionaries serving under your board as well as to school staff and any others who are entrusted with the care of the children of your missionaries?  If so, how is it disseminated?
5. What happens when it is alleged or suspected that an adult abused a child who is currently or was formerly part of a missionary community?
   Who investigated the allegation?Is it reported to any outside agency?
   If so, to what agency or agencies?
   If the allegation is substantiated, is the investigation broadened?
   If so, to whom?
   If the allegation is substantiated, who is informed?
   If the perpetrator is dismissed, who is informed?
6. What provisions are made for appropriate treatment for the victim?
   (Please speak to psychological therapy, counseling of parents to support their child, help for the parents.)
7. What happens when it is alleged or suspected that an older child abused a younger child who is currently part of a missionary community?
   Who investigated the allegation?
   Is it reported to any outside agency?
   If so, to what agency or agencies?
   If the allegation is substantiated, is the investigation broadened?
   If yes, who is contacted?
   If the allegation of abuse is substantiated, who is informed?
   Who decides whether or when the juvenile perpetrator is psychologically fit to be allowed back into the school (or dorm or mission hostel, etc.) where the abuse took place?
   Is psychological therapy made available to the juvenile perpetrator?
   Is psychological therapy made available to the child who was abused?
   Are the parents of the perpetrator and the child who was abused counseled?
   If so, are family members free to see therapists of their own choosing?
8. When an adult (former MK) alleges that he or she was abused as a child by a missionary caretaker, what procedures are in place to investigate the allegation?
   Who conducts the investigation?
   (Please speak to the affiliation, credentials, training and manner of the investigation.)
   Who will be contacted and interviewed?
   Will the investigators attempts to contact and interview all adult former MKs and others who, because they were once in the alleged perpetrator's care or lived in close proximity to him or her, were vulnerable to abuse?
   When an allegation of abuse is found to have validity, what is the process for investigating the allegation?
   If the allegation is substantiated, who is informed?
   Is it reported to any outside agency?
   If so, to what agency or agencies?
   If the perpetrator is currently employed at a school, church, or other institution where he or she has contact with children, who is responsible for informing the employer about the perpetrator's history of abuse?
   Who in your organization is responsible for ensuring that the perpetrator does not again gain employment in a school, church, or other institution where he or she would have access to children?
9. What steps are taken to help the victim heal?
   Is psychological therapy available to the abuse victim?
   If so, is the therapist of the victim’s choosing?
   What support services will be made available to the parents and siblings of the abused survivor?

Close Window