Safe From Harm
It is a responsibility for everyone involved in Kirikiriroa and St. Peter’s Scout Group and the Scout Movement in general to ensure the safety of participants in any Scouting activity. This includes their physical safety, but also their moral and emotional safety as well.
Young people are the primary target of all Safe From Harm material and actions taken by Scouts New Zealand.
Safe from Harm also has an impact on the protection of adult volunteers and staff, and any person involved temporarily in Scout activities, since at its core, it is about creating safer spaces for everyone to enjoy their Scouting experience.
What is Safe From Harm?
The Scout Movement builds strategies and actions to promote the well being, personal development and safety of each of its members towards creating a safer society for all.
It recognises that all young people, inside or outside Scouting, have the same rights regardless of their background (culture, ethnicity, language,sexual preferences, religion, etc.).
The Scout Movement also supports access for all to basic services including health, education, social protection, and justice. The Scout Method, an essential characteristic of Scouts Aotearoa’s Youth Programme, is built around the idea of developing healthy and friendly behaviours for Scouts themselves and among each other.
This is especially true when we look at the Scout Promise and Law. Scouts Aotearoa has made Safe from Harm a priority and implemented a Safe from Harm approach in every part of the organisation’s work (communications, governance, education, etc.) in order to protect from abuse situations all members and participants.
The World Safe from Harm policy and many other position papers and resolutions have allowed Scouting to take big steps towards ensuring a safe environment and preventing harmful situations for all Scouts.