Safe Scouting, for Scouts
For Scouts
Safe Scouting means you
have the right to participate and enjoy Scouting, safely! When you joined Scouting,
you and your parent or guardian should have reviewed;
“How
to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide.”
It’s an insert inside the front of every Boy Scout and Cub Scout Handbook. If
you haven't seen it, ask your parent or guardian to go over it with you now.
You have certain rights:
Child's Bill
of Rights
When feeling threatened, you have the right to
Trust your instincts or feelings.
Expect privacy.
Say no to unwanted touching or affection.
Say no to an adult's inappropriate demands and
requests.
Withhold information that could jeopardize your
safety.
Refuse gifts.
Be rude or unhelpful if the situation warrants.
Run, scream, and make a scene.
Physically fight off unwanted advances.
Ask for help.
Also, keep in mind the:
"Three Rs" of Youth Protection
RECOGNIZE that anyone could
be a child molester and be aware of situations that could lead to abuse.
RESIST advances made by
child molesters to avoid being abused.
REPORT any molestation or
attempted molestation to parents or other trusted adults.
Safety Online
When you're on-line, you are in a public place, among thousands
of people who are on-line at the same time. Be safe by following these personal protection
rules and you will have fun:
- Keep on-line conversations with strangers to public places, not in
e-mail.
- Do not give anyone on-line your real last name, phone numbers at
home or school, your parents' workplaces, or the name or location of your school or home
address unless you have your parent's permission first. Never give your password to anyone
but a parent or other adult in your family.
- If someone shows you e-mail with sayings that make you feel
uncomfortable, trust your instincts. You are probably right to be wary. Do not respond.
Tell a parent what happened.
- If somebody tells you to keep what's going on between the two of
you secret, tell a parent.
- Be careful whom you talk to. Anyone who starts talking about
subjects that make you feel uncomfortable is probably an adult posing as a kid.
- Pay attention if someone tells you things that don't fit together.
One time an on-line friend will say he or she is 12, and another time will say he or she
is 14. That is a warning that this person is lying and may be an adult posing as a kid.
- Unless you talk to a parent about it first, never talk to anybody
by phone if you know that person only on-line. If someone asks you to call—even if
it's collect or a toll-free, 800 number—that's a warning. That person can get your
phone number this way, either from a phone bill or from caller ID.
- Never agree to meet someone you have met only on-line any place
off-line, in the real world.
- Watch out if someone on-line starts talking about hacking, or
breaking onto other people's or companies' computer systems; phreaking (the
"ph"sounds like an "f"), the illegal use of long-distance services or
cellular phones; or viruses, on-line programs that destroy or damage data when other
people download these onto their computers.
- Promise your parent or an adult family member and yourself that
you will honor any rules about how much time you are allowed to spend on-line and what you
do and where you go while you are on-line.
You can learn more about online safety:
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