CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION

 We know that today:

  • 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys in the U.S. experience sexual abuse by the age of 18.

  • 90 percent of children who are abused know the abuser.

  • There are more than 42 million survivors of child sexual abuse in the U.S. Yet, many child victims may never disclose their abuse.

  • 1 in 5 children is solicited sexually on the Internet before the age of 18.

Yet, when adults collectively understand the risks and red flags of child sexual abuse, we can do more to keep kids safe. When we all take action, abuse is preventable.



These symbols stand for Know See Respond.

This symbol is a conversation starter for staff, parents, and guardians to talk about child protection. As we mentioned, our staff is fully trained on how to protect children. Please ask them about it. When we KNOW how abuse happens and SEE the warning signs we can RESPOND quickly to prevent it. Together we can foster a culture of child abuse prevention.

We urge you to talk to your children regularly about their experiences at the YMCA of Parkersburg. Ask them about their instructors. If, as a result, there is ever a concern regarding the safety and protection of your child, please notify our team immediately.

Together, we can keep our children safe and cultivate the values, skills, and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement.

Our Commitment to Child Protection

As a youth-serving organization the Y’s most important work is creating safe environments for young people. That any child or teen would experience harm in our care is unacceptable. Ensuring the safety and well-being of young people is foundational to everything we do at the Y to help them learn, grow and thrive.

How We Create Safe Spaces for Children and Teens

As an organization, we have taken the following actions to keep kids safe in our Y facility, camp and programs and maintain the reputation of safety we have built during our history.

  1. All Ys in the U.S. are required to implement child sexual abuse prevention practices and policies to remain a member in good standing with the National Council of YMCAs. These requirements include:

    • Completing a child abuse prevention self-assessment at least every two (2) years and implement an Action Plan to address opportunities for improvement. 

    • Having a policy that requires criminal background checks for staff and volunteers.

    • Providing and requiring annual training for staff and high-access volunteers on preventing and responding to youth-to-youth sexual activity and adult-to-child sexual activity or abuse.

  2. In addition to requiring all staff and volunteers to report child abuse in accordance with applicable laws, all allegations of sexual abuse or victimization of minors (under 18) involving Y staff, volunteers, members or participants must be reported to the appropriate authorities. 

  3. Having a policy that requires screening all adults against a national sex offender registry and written protocol for how to respond when adults are identified as registered sex offenders

  4. Implementing policies that define boundaries with youth 

  5. Implementing procedures for identifying and managing high-risk activities 

  6. Assigning youth protection to a leadership staff member’s responsibility and a committee’s chart of work 

Child Protection Resources

Learn more about steps everyone can take to help create a culture of safety and prevent child sexual abuse.

Report An Incident

If you need to report an emergency situation involving child sexual abuse, please call 911.

Otherwise, please contact the appropriate local and state authorities to report suspected incidents of child sexual abuse. You can find contact information for child abuse and neglect authorities for your particular state here.

If you suspect child sexual abuse has occurred at our YMCA please report it using our Anonymous Reporting form.

Additional Resources:

Together, we can keep our children safe and cultivate the values, skills and relationships that lead to positive behaviors, better health and educational achievement. At the YMCA, in order to keep children safe, we require all staff and volunteers to follow a Code of Conduct. We do not allow staff to have outside contact with children we serve at the YMCA. In addition, only authorized staff are allowed to take photos of children in the YMCA. No special attention or gifts are allowed to be given by staff.

Want to learn more? 

Click the links below to watch informative videos:

Introduction Video 
Abuse & Warning Signs Video
Talking to Your Child Video
How to Respond Video