Dedicated to ISKCON Founder Acarya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

What To Do if Abuse Occurs
Guide for Temple Presidents/School Administration

When a child reports that he or she has experienced any of the behaviors detailed above, serious attention should be paid to the report. While not every child's story is actually a report of abuse, the truth needs to be determined to prevent further harm to the child or further false allegations.

The following initial steps should be taken if anyone has come to you with a concern of abuse:

• Follow local laws concerning mandated reporting of suspected or confirmed abuse. These laws may entail that the first step after hearing about the abuse is to contact the police and/or the State Child Abuse Hot line. In any case, be sure to contact these government authorities as soon or sooner than the law requires you to do so. After contacting these government agencies, cooperate with them fully.
• Remove child from situation of suspected abuse.
• Remove suspected abuser from situation near children.(Ensure that suspected abuser does not have access to, or interact with, children.)
• Call the local Child Protection Team.
• Give the child love and support.
• Put the family in touch with local support groups for abused children and their families.
• Hold istagoshti to intelligently inform community of facts, actions taken to protect child, and cooperation with police investigation.
• Prepare press release of information of facts, if necessay. Please first check with Anuttama Prabhu of ISKCON Communications­ - 301-299-9707.
• Make sure all information is relayed to the ISKCON Central Office of Child Protection:

  	P.O. Box 1438 , Alachua, Fl 32616 or contact the Director: Tamohara das (Thomas Pourchot) Phone: 352.283.5844

• Be sure not to do or say anything that may cause the child to feel responsible for being abused.
• One should also remember that both the child and parents of the child will be very scared and/or angry. It is in everyone's best interest to act with kindness and understanding in these situations.

What is Abuse and How Does It Happen?

Child abuse is when a person exerts his or her power over a child in ways that harm and/or exploit the child. The abuser is powerful; the child is vulnerable. The abuser can gain power over the child through size, position, knowledge, or money. All of these work to make the abuser feel he or she is able to behave inappropriately toward a child and that the child will be unable to stop the abusive behavior.

The child is vulnerable to an abuser as a result of having fewer resources available to him or her. The child is physically smaller and weaker, intellectually less mature, and can be economically dependent upon the abuser or some other adult. When a child's vulnerability and an abuser's misuse of power combine with opportunity, then child abuse may and often does occur.