October 2018
By Rachel Visser, Prevention and Education Coordinator Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” What are the men in your life doing? When it comes to preventing child abuse, KIDS Center is an equal opportunity training partner. In 2018 we wrapped up our third year as a partner site and grant recipient of The Ford Family Foundation’s Protect Our Children initiative. In these three years over 3,200 individuals became equipped to protect children from abuse by attending Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® training hosted by KIDS Center. While this is a tremendous success for Central Oregon, we noticed a significant gap in who wasn’t taking the trainings: MEN! 77% of attendees were women. Although this will positively impact our entire population, we are missing a critical opportunity to foster a community where men are equally involved and invested in protecting children. How can we shift this social and cultural norm? To better understand possible reasons for low male attendance, I reached out to someone who understands men and the struggle of engaging that population: a man. Scott Eastman, Executive Director of the Siskiyou Family YMCA and fellow partner in the Protect Our Children initiative, has been a champion in calling men to action in child sexual abuse prevention. From the outset, Eastman quickly became aware of the unfortunate reality that, nationally, 80% of those receiving the Stewards of Children® training were female. Scott stated he knew that, “without men being actively engaged with women on this front, it becomes a gender specific movement and you cannot capitalize on any movement that way .”
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” -Edmund Burke kidscenter.org
When asked what a typical response from men was when they were asked to attend a child sexual abuse prevention training, Eastman had a very straightforward answer: “They run.” With a determination to change this in his community, Eastman sat down and made a list of every man he knew personally in Siskiyou County. He wrote down 150 names. He sat down with each individual and used the proverbial “friend card” to engage them. It worked! What started as conversations over coffee grew to small groups of men becoming trained in child sexual abuse prevention. Currently, Eastman is working with male dominated organizations, including California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire, to educate and garner support at a larger level. Since beginning his crusade, the most surprising outcome has been the number of personal disclosures made by men during or after a training. “This could be a large factor as to why so many men have not engaged with this issue,” Eastman said. It serves as an all too real reminder that child sexual abuse does not discriminate between genders. How are men in Central Oregon engaging with child sexual abuse prevention? KIDS Center is proud to have a board of directors that is 45% male, all of whom are determined to change the landscape of child abuse prevention in Central Oregon. Eastman exemplifies how it sometimes takes one person to stand up and say enough is enough. Is it enough for you? Consider becoming the “one” who stands up for children by signing up to take Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children® training by going to kidscenter.org/trainings.
541.383.5958