Child Protection

ABWE’s biblical mandate and philosophy of ministry require that we engage children with the gospel. Often, children’s ministry is the first and most fruitful on any given field. We must maintain the highest standards of protecting the youngest and most vulnerable among us. Abuse and neglect may take many forms, and often they are difficult to observe, recognize, and act upon. For this reason, it is vital to have an explicit and thorough policy that is understood and practiced by every person associated with the ministry of ABWE.

1.0 Purpose

1.1         Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc. is committed to the safety and well-being of children involved in its ministry work. This Child Protection Policy (the “Policy”) was developed to protect children from abuse, neglect, and other forms of mistreatment in all aspects of our ministry in the United States and overseas.

2.0 Scope

2.1          This Policy applies to Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc. and to all other ABWE entities* (referred to collectively as “ABWE”) and to all officers, directors, employees, independent contractors, and volunteers of ABWE, including missionaries (including long-, mid-, and short-term missionaries), and interns and college students engaged in “short trips” (hereinafter, “ABWE Staff Members” or “Staff Members”).

*As used herein, the term “ABWE entity” refers to each of the following: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc.; ABWE Foundation LLC; and Global Neighbors LLC. These “ABWE Entities” also operate under other names including but not limited to ABWE; ABWE International; and ABWE North America.

2.2          This Policy applies to ABWE Staff Members working both in the United States and overseas, including Staff Members on assignment with ABWE Affiliates** or other entities.

**The term “ABWE Affiliate” means any nonprofit organization or its equivalent organized and operated under the laws of another country that has signed an Affiliation Agreement with ABWE.

2.3          All ABWE Staff Members are expected to understand and comply with all provisions of this Policy.

2.4          ABWE Staff Members who have an assignment with an ABWE Affiliate are also expected to be familiar with and to comply with the child protection and reporting policies of the ABWE Affiliate with which they work.

2.5          In some jurisdictions, ABWE Staff Members may be subject to requirements and standards relating to child abuse and neglect and reporting that are more stringent than this Policy. Where more stringent requirements and standards exist, they will apply in place of the requirements and standards of this Policy.

2.6          Definitions of various terms used in this Policy are found at the end of this chapter.

3.0 Expectations

3.1          We expect all of our employees, volunteers and other Staff Members to understand and comply with this Policy. Questions about this Policy and its application in individual cases should be referred to ABWE’s Child Safety Officer.

3.2          As will be explained in more detail below, we have identified in this Policy a number of behaviors toward children that are prohibited, including physical abuse; sexual abuse; emotional, verbal and psychological abuse; neglect; criminal conduct; and poor boundaries and grooming. These behaviors are referred to in this Policy as “Prohibited Conduct.” This Policy prohibits Staff Members from engaging in any Prohibited Conduct directed towards children.

3.3          This Policy also addresses situations in which ABWE staff dependents, participants in our ministry programs and work, vendors, and others involved in ABWE’s ministry engage in abuse or neglect of a child or other Prohibited Conduct. This Policy also requires staff dependents, participants, vendors, and others involved in ABWE’s ministry work to avoid and not engage in Prohibited Conduct.

3.4          This Policy requires that all Staff Members comply with the internal reporting procedures described in this Policy when they become aware or suspect that another Staff Member has engaged in Prohibited Conduct. The Policy outlines additional internal reporting obligations that apply when a Staff Member becomes aware or suspects that a staff dependent, participant, vendor, or other person involved in ABWE’s ministry work has engaged in Prohibited Conduct.

3.5          This Policy requires that Staff Members comply with mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting laws applicable to them when they become aware or suspect that a child has suffered abuse or neglect.

3.6          Failure to abide by this Policy may result in immediate termination, suspension, reprimand, and/or other corrective action, at ABWE’s discretion.

4.0 Prohibited Conduct

4.1         All ABWE Staff Members are prohibited from engaging in activities and behaviors that involve conduct prohibited by this Policy (“Prohibited Conduct”). Section 5.0 below identifies the forms of Prohibited Conduct covered by this Policy.

4.2         While the descriptions of Prohibited Conduct in this Policy refer to ABWE Staff Members who engage in Prohibited Conduct, they are also intended to apply to circumstances in which the perpetrator is another person involved with the ministry, such as a staff dependent, non-staff member participant, vendor, or other person involved in ABWE’s ministry. Circumstances in which other persons, including a dependent of an ABWE Staff Member, engage in Prohibited Conduct are addressed further in Section 6.0.

4.3         ABWE recognizes that in the field, practices such as shared childcare may be common; and that certain behavior, such as full frontal hugs between parents and their children and between parents and the children of friends, may be normal and accepted behavior. When reviewing a report of abuse, neglect, or other Prohibited Conduct, ABWE expects to take into account such circumstances.

5.0 Forms of Prohibited Conduct

5.1          Physical Abuse

5.1.1            Except as provided otherwise below, ABWE Staff Members, including parents, are prohibited from physical abuse of a child, which includes making physical contact with a child with the intent to cause pain or causing the child to engage in physical behavior intended to cause the child pain, whether or not physical contact with the child occurs, and whether or not the child in fact experiences pain. Physical abuse includes causing bodily injury (which means substantial pain or impairment of physical condition), causing a reasonable likelihood of bodily injury, striking or hitting a child, kicking, biting, burning, throwing, stabbing or cutting a child in a manner that endangers a child, unreasonably restraining or confining a child, forcefully shaking a child, interfering with a child’s breathing, pushing a child so that the child falls or is thrown against a wall or object, injuring a child with a weapon or a sharp or hot object or liquid, or grabbing or jerking the child. Forcefully shaking, slapping, or otherwise striking a child under one year of age is prohibited. Causing physical neglect of a child is prohibited (see Section 5.4 below). Acts which are performed for bona fide medical or first aid purposes and according to established standards of care will not normally be considered abuse.

5.1.2            As an exception to subsection 5.1.1, corporal punishment by parents as to their children over one year of age will not be considered physical abuse under this Policy, provided it involves reasonable force and is done for purposes of supervision, control, or discipline of their children.

5.1.3            In addition, it shall not be considered physical abuse for ABWE Staff Members, including parents responsible for a child’s welfare, to use reasonable force for or against a child, when:

•             The use of reasonable force constitutes incidental, minor, or reasonable physical contact with the child or other actions that are designed to maintain order and control; or

•             The use of reasonable force is necessary (i) to quell a disturbance or remove a child from the scene of a disturbance that threatens physical injury to persons or damage to property; (ii) to prevent the child from self-inflicted physical harm; (iii) for self-defense or the defense of another individual; or (iv) to obtain possession of weapons or other dangerous objects or controlled substances or paraphernalia that are on the child or within the control of the child.

5.1.4            If ABWE Staff Members, including parents, live in a jurisdiction where they are subject to a more stringent legal requirement or standard relating to physical treatment of children, the more stringent requirement or standard will apply in place of the requirements and standards of this Policy.

5.2          Sexual Abuse

5.2.1            ABWE Staff Members are prohibited from engaging in sexual abuse of a child. Sexual abuse includes sexual conduct or an advance, or other oral, written, visual, or physical activity of a sexual nature, directed toward a child. Sexual abuse may include, but is not limited to the following:

•             Engaging in sexual activity or communications with a child;

•             Engaging in sexually explicit language with a child;

•             Engaging in language with a child that comments upon the child’s sexuality or sexual characteristics in a degrading or humiliating way;

•             Engaging in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with a child;

•             Touching a child’s genitals or the clothing over them;

•             Touching or speaking to a child in any way that provides sexual gratification to the perpetrator or that is intended to arouse the child

•             Showing a child photos or other images containing sexually explicit or nude images;

•             Sending a child messages or notes containing language or images of a sexual nature;

•             Voyeurism;

•             Taking or creating a pornographic photograph or image of a child, or encouraging a child to expose himself or to make and/or send photos of himself with genitalia or other sensitive areas exposed;

•             Indecent exposure or engaging in sexual gestures or acts in the presence of a child;

•             Engaging in relationships or activities with a child that constitutes prostitution or sex trafficking, including paying a child for sexual acts, or arranging for another person to engage in sexual activity with a child, whether for compensation or not; and

•             Engaging in any other behavior towards or in the presence of a child that involves sexual meaning, language, or references, that is otherwise inappropriate, including sexual jokes or references to the Staff Member’s or another person’s sex life.

5.2.2            Acts that are part of normal caretaker responsibilities (such as dressing a younger child who is unable to do this himself) and acts performed for bona fide medical or first aid purposes and according to established standards of care will not normally be considered misconduct.

5.2.3            Where an ABWE Staff Member uses his or her position of power and authority as an ABWE Staff Member in order to engage in any of the sexual activity described above with a person (including another Staff Member) 18-21 years of age, such behavior is also considered a violation of this Policy.

5.3          Emotional, Verbal, or Psychological Abuse

5.3.1            ABWE Staff Members are prohibited from engaging in emotional, verbal, or psychological abuse of a child. This includes behavior that is degrading or harassing of a child or that otherwise constitutes behavior intended to cause a child to feel demeaned, neglected, or unwanted, or that causes serious mental injury, including injury or impairment to the child’s psychological or social capacity, functioning, or development. This type of abuse can involve verbal abuse, which is a pattern of using cruel, threatening, or excessively harsh language toward a child. It can also include intentionally ignoring a child, excluding a child, or otherwise neglecting a child to communicate to the child that the child is not wanted or “worth nothing.”

5.3.2            Giving a child firm and measured instruction or direction that is developmentally appropriate and age-appropriate, and proportionate and otherwise reasonable non-physical punishment (such as imposing a “time out” of a reasonable duration and reasonable place of confinement), in instances when a child has acted out or disobeyed, are excluded from the definition of emotional, verbal, or psychological abuse.

5.3.3            If ABWE Staff Members, including parents, live in a jurisdiction where they are subject to a more stringent legal requirement or standard relating to emotional/verbal/psychological treatment of children, the more stringent requirement or standard will apply in place of the requirements and standards of this Policy.

5.4          Neglect

ABWE Staff Members are prohibited from engaging in neglect of a child. Neglect includes denying a child under their care basic needs and support, such as adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or supervision in a manner that threatens the safety, health, or well-being of the child. Circumstances of poverty, natural disasters, or family or community emergencies are ordinarily not the same as neglect.

5.5          Criminal Conduct

5.5.1            Some forms of Prohibited Conduct may constitute a criminal offense against a child, including sexual assault on a child; exploitation; creation, possession, or distribution of child pornography; molestation; or other behavior against or involving a child that constitutes a criminal violation in Pennsylvania or the jurisdiction where the behavior occurred. As used in this Policy, the term “Prohibited Conduct” includes criminal offenses against a child although certain types of Prohibited Conduct may not be a criminal offense.

5.5.2            When an ABWE Staff Member is charged with a criminal offense, or becomes the subject of a criminal investigation that concerns or includes an allegation of a criminal offense against a child, or learns that another ABWE Staff Member is the subject of such a charge or investigation, the Staff Member shall report the matter immediately according to the internal reporting procedure in Section 7.0 below.

5.6          Poor Boundaries and “Grooming”

ABWE Staff Members are expected to maintain proper boundaries with children and to avoid grooming behaviors. In some instances, adults may engage in physical touch or language with a child that may not constitute sexual abuse, but that is nonetheless too familiar, crossing the lines of proper behavior for an adult Staff Member, or that could cause misunderstanding or discomfort in the child. Also, while not explicitly sexual in nature, certain behaviors are sometimes used by perpetrators with the intent of developing a relationship with a child and eventually engaging in sexual contact with a child, and therefore constitute grooming. It is important that ABWE Staff Members be aware of boundary issues and signs of grooming, and report any behavior with or concerning a child by another Staff Member that they feel is inappropriate or suspicious. Grooming behaviors may include:

•          Frequent or excessive hugging with children, especially “full frontal” hugs. However, some hugging with children, especially young children, can be appropriate. ABWE Staff Members are encouraged if a child initiates a hug, to give the child a side hug or one-armed hug. (Full frontal hugs with one’s own child is normal and is not prohibited.)

ABWE Staff Members should not initiate frequent hugs with children who are not their own and should never hug a child that does not wish to be hugged;

•          Giving a child backrubs or massages;

•          Giving a child excessive attention or privileges;

•          Having a child sit in one’s lap or between one’s legs;

•          Meeting with a child one-on-one in a secluded location or in a room with the door closed;

•          Allowing one or more children to visit, sleep over, or stay at the Staff Member’s home outside of a planned ministry activity with involvement of parents or other Staff Members, except in certain circumstances that are approved in advance and monitored;

•          Giving a child gifts, meals, money, or other benefits, outside established intra-family and ministry gift-giving activities, and without the awareness of the child’s parent; and

•          Transporting a child without another adult present. Exceptions may be made in carpooling or similar transport arrangements between trusted parents or other family members of children who play, attend school, or engage in activities together, and in emergencies, such as where a child has become sick and needs to be transported. In these cases, ABWE Staff Members should obtain consent from the parent or guardian of the child and alert a supervisor before transporting a child alone.

6.0 Prohibited Conduct by Dependents, Participants, Served by the Ministry, and Others

6.1          On occasion, there may be instances when a dependent of an ABWE Staff Member or a non-staff member participant in one of ABWE’s programs engages in behavior that constitutes Prohibited Conduct as described above. The dependent may be an adult family member or child of an ABWE Staff Member, who lives with the Staff Member on a short-term or continuing basis. The participant may be an adult or a child served by our ministry. On rare occasions, another person, such as an employee of a vendor, or a member of the public who has access to our ministry activities, might engage in Prohibited Conduct.

6.2          ABWE prohibits ABWE staff dependents, participants, vendors, and others involved with our ministry from engaging in Prohibited Conduct. Dependents, participants, and others may report Prohibited Conduct under Section 7.0.

6.3          ABWE Staff Members are expected to be vigilant concerning possible violations of this Policy. ABWE Staff Members who become aware of Prohibited Conduct committed by ABWE staff dependents or by others participating in or having access to our ministry activities shall report immediately according to the reporting procedure in Section 7.0 below. Staff Members may also have mandatory abuse reporting obligations as described under Section 8.0.

6.4          When receiving and handling a report concerning a perpetrator who is a minor, including a dependent or participant child, ABWE may take into consideration, among other things, the ages, physical and emotional maturity, and mental capacity of the children involved, whether the behavior was consensual and involved age-appropriate sexual curiosity or experimentation (but not harmful or abusive behavior), and whether the alleged perpetrator was in a position of authority over the other child or responsible for the other child’s welfare. In general, age-appropriate, and non-harmful consensual sexual activity between two dependents or participants of the same age (where the age difference is two years or less) is not considered Prohibited Conduct nor is it reportable under this Policy, unless it constitutes a criminal offense in Pennsylvania or the place where the activity occurred. If one dependent is also a Staff Member who has used his or her position as leverage or to exert power or influence in a sexual relationship or activity, or one child (not the initiator) is significantly less mature or is developmentally disabled, the matter is Prohibited Conduct and reportable.

6.5          In instances where a dependent child is the perpetrator, ABWE shall exercise its discretion and appropriate action shall be taken, including, but not limited to restricting the child’s or family’s contact with the ministry, requiring counseling for the child (and possibly the family), and/or removal or suspension of the child (and possibly the family) from the field. In some circumstances, ABWE may ban the child, and possibly the family, from ABWE positions and volunteer work, property, and events.

7.0 Internal Reporting to ABWE

7.1          An ABWE Staff Member shall immediately make a report to ABWE according to this Policy if he or she becomes aware or suspects that an ABWE Staff Member (i) has engaged, or is engaging, in Prohibited Conduct (as defined below), whether in the United States or overseas; or (ii) has failed to make an internal report under this Policy when required. ABWE Staff Members are expected to self-report their own Prohibited Conduct and failure to report under this Policy.

7.2          In addition, an ABWE Staff Member shall immediately make a report to ABWE according to this Policy if the Staff Member becomes aware or suspects that a dependent of an ABWE Staff Member has engaged in Prohibited Conduct.

7.3          An ABWE Staff Member shall immediately make a report to ABWE according to this Policy if the Staff Member becomes aware or suspects that an adult participating in an ABWE ministry program of an ABWE entity or an ABWE Affiliate has engaged in Prohibited Conduct. In the case of an adult involved in a program of an ABWE Affiliate, the Staff Member shall also make a report according to the child protection policy of the ministry program in which the child participates.

7.4          An ABWE Staff Member who becomes aware or suspects that a child served by a ministry program of an ABWE entity or an ABWE Affiliate has been subject to or engaged in Prohibited Conduct, in circumstances not covered by 7.1, 7.2 or 7.3, shall make a report under this Policy, and, in the case of a child involved with an ABWE Affiliate, shall also make a report according to the child protection policy of the ministry program in which the child participates.

7.5          An ABWE Staff Member who, in the course of performing his or her position with an ABWE ministry (including while on assignment to another organization), becomes aware or suspects that any other child has been subject to Prohibited Conduct, shall make a report under this Policy and, if applicable, under the policy of the program in which the child participates.

7.6          Reporting of abuse or other Prohibited Conduct must be accomplished immediately and without delay. When in doubt, report. To make a report under this Policy, the ABWE Staff Member shall notify ABWE’s Child Safety Officer or, if the Child Safety Officer is unavailable, another member of ABWE’s Child Safety Response Team (“CSRT”). The CSRT may be contacted on ABWE’s website under Protecting Our Children. The CSRT includes the Child Safety Officer, the Director of International Security and Crisis Management, the Vice President of Global Ministries, and such other individuals as may be appointed by the President from time to time.

7.7          Any ABWE Staff Member who becomes aware or suspects Prohibited Conduct or failure to report by another should not attempt to investigate or verify the alleged violation before making a report to the Child Safety Officer or other CSRT member. When in doubt, report. The report can be made orally or in writing. The report should be as detailed as possible in the circumstances.

7.8          Participants in ABWE and ABWE Affiliate activities, including independent contractors, dependents, child participants, parents of a child participant, and other adults participating or involved in ABWE ministries, may (and are encouraged to) make a report under this Section if they become aware or suspect that an ABWE Staff Member, dependent, or participant has engaged in Prohibited Conduct or that a dependent or child participant has been subject to Prohibited Conduct.

8.0 Reporting Under Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Laws

8.1          Applicable Law

All states in the United States have child abuse and neglect reporting laws. ABWE Staff Members working in the United States may be mandatory reporters under the child abuse and neglect reporting law of the state where they work. Mandatory reporters typically have a legal duty to report child abuse and neglect independent of and in addition to any obligations under this Policy. Also, some foreign countries have child abuse reporting laws.

8.2          Mandatory Reporters

5.2.1          ABWE Staff Members who are mandatory reporters are responsible for making reports under applicable law. Failure to make a required report can result in criminal penalties and, in some states in the United States, can result in civil liability for damages caused by the failure to report. ABWE seeks to support and assist ABWE Staff Members with making reports under applicable law, but the responsibility for making the report ultimately rests with the Staff Member if the Staff Member is a mandatory reporter. ABWE Staff Members who have questions or need help in determining whether they are mandatory reporters or about whether they should make a report under a mandatory reporting law should contact the Child Safety Officer, or if the Child Safety Officer is unavailable, another member of the CSRT immediately.

8.2.2          Child abuse reporting laws often require mandatory reporters to make their reports within very short timeframes (e.g., within 48-72 hours). It is therefore critical that persons who obtain, become aware of, or suspect abuse, neglect, or other Prohibited Conduct act quickly to alert ABWE and to determine their abuse reporting responsibilities.

8.2.3          ABWE provides further information to ABWE Staff Members about mandatory reporting laws through its child safety training program for staf

9.0 Retaliation

9.1     ABWE Staff Members shall not engage in retaliation against an ABWE Staff Member or other individual because that person has made a report pursuant to this Policy or cooperated in an investigation of a report by ABWE under this Policy or an investigation by law enforcement or government authorities.

9.2     If an ABWE Staff Member believes that he or she has experienced retaliation by any person for making a report under this Policy or for cooperating in an investigation, the Staff Member should make a report immediately to the Child Safety Officer or another member of the CSRT under Section 7.0 above.

9.3     This Section does not limit ABWE from taking personnel action or other action it deems appropriate with respect to an ABWE Staff Member or other person who it determines has made an intentionally or knowingly false report or has engaged in Prohibited Conduct or other violations of its policies and procedures, including this Policy.

9.4     Retaliation can take many forms depending on the positions and circumstances of the people involved. In the context of employees, it can involve adverse personnel action against an employee that has a significant impact on the terms and conditions of an individual’s employment and that is causally connected to the report of abuse or cooperation in an investigation. As for a participant, it may involve exclusion from ministry activities or services for having made a report of abuse or cooperated in an investigation. If you have a question about whether certain treatment constitutes retaliation, please contact the ABWE Child Safety Officer.

10.0 Procedures

10.1   Addressing the Report

Upon receiving a report of Prohibited Conduct, or any other violation of this Policy, the Child Safety Officer, in consultation and/or conjunction with the President, the Director of International Security and Crisis Management and the Vice President of Global Ministries, should do the following, as they determine relevant to the circumstances:

1.        Immediately determine whether the matter should be reported to the authorities under an applicable mandatory child abuse reporting law and, if so, coordinate the report and/or assist the relevant Staff Member to make a report (if not already done).

2.        If there is no legal duty to report the matter to the authorities, consider immediately whether the matter should nonetheless be reported to the authorities (e.g., where a criminal violation appears to have occurred, or it is determined that a report should be made in the best interests of the child or for moral reasons). When in doubt, report.

3.        Notify the rest of the CSRT Team.

4.        If the alleged perpetrator is an ABWE Staff Member, coordinate initial personnel action and notifications to the alleged perpetrator, such as placement on administrative leave, removal from the field, and/or instructions to cease contact with the victim and the victim’s family, ABWE personnel, and/or constituents.

5.        Coordinate communications with the victim and victim’s family, as appropriate, with focus on protection, care, and support.

6.        Consider whether additional investigation or information is needed and, if so, coordinate that investigation and information gathering.

7.        Consider whether other personnel action(s), corrective or remedial action, communications, and notices to the CSRT and other leadership, as applicable to the circumstances, may be advisable.

10.2   Communications

If the report involves an ABWE Staff Member working in the field, the Child Safety Officer shall notify the relevant Area Executive Director, Regional Director, and/or field Team Leader, as determined by the Child Safety Officer, as well as the child safety officer at the relevant ABWE Affiliate, if any. In instances of reported Prohibited Conduct in North America, the Child Safety Officer may notify the potential perpetrator’s supervisor at ABWE. If deemed warranted, the Child Safety Officer may notify the head of the ABWE Staff Member’s funding and/or sending organizations.

11.0 Consequences

11.1      ABWE Staff Members who engage in Prohibited Conduct or other violations of this Policy may be subject to disciplinary action, at the discretion of ABWE. Such action may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: a warning or reprimand; corrective action and/or suspension of the perpetrator’s employment, volunteer work, affiliation, or activity with ABWE; termination of the perpetrator’s employment, volunteer work, affiliation, or activity with ABWE; freezing of the perpetrator’s and/or spouse’s ABWE accounts; a ban on the perpetrator’s affiliation with any ABWE entity; and/or a ban on the perpetrator’s presence on ABWE property or at ABWE events.

11.2      The Child Safety Officer will determine whether notices should be made to ABWE Affiliates of the action taken and whether they will be requested to implement disciplinary action similar to that imposed by ABWE. For example, if a perpetrator is banned from ABWE property and events, then ABWE may request that he or she should be banned from the property and events of all ABWE Affiliates.

12.0 Screening and Selection

12.1    For all Staff Members hired, engaged, or employed by ABWE, ABWE conducts all statutorily required criminal and personal history background checks for successful candidates. The results of the background screen may disqualify a person from working for or with ABWE or participating in the activities of ABWE.

12.2    ABWE may conduct background screens for current ABWE Staff Members, as well as additional follow-up and special background screens, at any time, in the discretion of ABWE. ABWE conducts background screens on all ABWE Staff Members on a schedule of every five years.

12.3    If ABWE learns, either through a background screen or through other sources, that an ABWE Staff Member has engaged in conduct violating this Policy at any time, past or present, including prior to joining or working with ABWE, ABWE may terminate that person’s relationship with ABWE or take other action in its discretion.

12.4    During the hiring or onboarding process for a position as an ABWE Staff Member, all successful candidates are expected to sign a document affirming that they have read, understand, and agree with this Policy (as it may be amended from time to time). ABWE Staff Members must strictly comply with this Policy regardless of whether they have reviewed, signed, or agree with it.

13.0 Training

During the hiring or onboarding process for a position as an ABWE Staff Member, all successful candidates will be required to complete training concerning child abuse, neglect, and other Prohibited Conduct and this Policy. Following hire, all ABWE Staff Members will be required to complete such training on a schedule determined by ABWE and to sign a document affirming that they have read, understand, and agree with this Policy (as it may be amended from time to time).

14.0 ABWE Affiliates

ABWE intends to work with ABWE Affiliates to assist them in creating and implementing a child protection policy for each Affiliate that is substantially similar to this Policy and that is responsive to the particular culture and location of each Affiliate. ABWE expects that ABWE Affiliates will inform their employees, volunteers, and other staff of the ABWE Affiliate’s child protection policy and reporting procedures.

15.0 No Express or Implied Contract

No part of this Policy constitutes an express or implied contract or a legally enforceable promise or representation by ABWE. ABWE reserves the right to modify this Policy at any time.

16.0 Definitions

• ABWE – Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc. and all other ABWE entities.

• ABWE Affiliate – any nonprofit organization or its equivalent organized and operated under the laws of another country that either (i) was formed by ABWE Staff Members, (ii) has a majority of board members who are ABWE Staff Members, or (iii) has signed an Affiliation Agreement with ABWE.

• ABWE Entity – each of the following: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc.; ABWE Foundation, LLC; and Global Neighbors, LLC. These “ABWE Entities” also operate under other names including, but not limited to, ABWE; ABWE International; and ABWE North America.

• ABWE Staff Members – all officers, directors, employees, independent contractors, and volunteers of ABWE, including missionaries (including long-, mid-, and short-term missionaries), and interns and college students engaged in “short trips.”

• Child – an individual under 18 years of age.

• Child Safety Response Team (CSRT) – the Child Safety Officer, the Director of International Security and Crisis Management, the Vice President of Global Ministries, and such other individuals as may be appointed by the President from time to time.

• Immediate Family Members – husband, wife, father, mother, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandparent, brother’s wife, sister’s husband, stepmother, stepfather, half-sister, half-brother, child, stepchild, and grandchild.

• Parent – a biological parent, an adoptive parent, a stepparent, or a legal guardian.

• Staff Members – ABWE Staff Members (see above).

17.0 Examples

• A teenage dependent engages in sexual touching of a pre-school-aged dependent of another ABWE Staff Member’s family
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes
• A 17-year-old teenage dependent (not an ABWE Staff Member) engages in consensual kissing of another teenage dependent of the same age as the first dependent (assume no criminal conduct has occurred)
  • Prohibited Conduct? No
  • Report? No
• A teenage dependent sends an unwanted text with a sexually explicit photo to another teenage dependent
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes
• A 17-year-old teenage dependent engages in consensual sexual activity with a 17-year-old minor served by the ministry
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes
• A dependent argues with and then physically attacks and injures another dependent or a child participating in an ABWE ministry program
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes
• A non-staff member adult who participates in an ABWE ministry program sexually abuses a child in his/her family at home
  • Prohibited Conduct? No (non-staff not covered by policy)
  • Report? Yes
• A teenage minor child participating in an ABWE ministry program engages in sexual activity with a pre-school child served by the ministry program
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes
• An independent contractor of an ABWE entity makes sexual advances to a child served by an ABWE ministry program who he met through the ABWE ministry program
  • Prohibited Conduct? Yes
  • Report? Yes