Abuse and Misconduct Policy

Summary

Navigation Games staff must...

• know the definitions of abuse and misconduct and be able to recognize it.

• not engage in prohibited behavior. 

• report suspected child abuse to law enforcement.

• report other misconduct to Navigation Games leadership.

• create a safe and positive environment in all our programs.

Policy

Navigation Games abides by the Orienteering USA Abuse and Misconduct Policy and the US Center for Safe Sport Code of Conduct.

All Navigation Games staff, including administrative staff, program-delivering staff, and volunteers, are required by Navigation Games policy to report suspected abuse and misconduct.

All Navigation Games staff, including teens in the summer youth employment program, who deliver programs, must be trained in recognizing and reporting abuse and misconduct. A sufficient training program is that provided by the US Center for Safe Sport.

Abuse and misconduct is prohibited behavior and may not be engaged in by any paid or volunteer Navigation Games staff.

All Navigation Games staff must report suspected child abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. In Massachusetts, all reports of suspected child abuse or neglect must be phoned in to DCF. Please call immediately if you know of, or suspect, an incident of child abuse or neglect.  During regular business hours (8:45 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F) call the Department of Families and Children (DCF) area office that serves the city or town where the child lives. Nights, weekends, and holidays dial the Child-at-Risk Hotline at (800) 792-5200.  The DCF office for Cambridge/Somerville phone number is 617-520-8700.

In designing Navigation Games programs, staff must establish reasonable procedures to limit one-on-one interactions between minor amateur athletes and adults other than their guardians at a facility under Navigation Games' jurisdiction without being in an observable and interruptible distance from another adult, except under emergency circumstances.

In designing and implementing programs, Navigation Games staff must seek proactively to create a safe environment in which participants and staff feel enabled to voice concerns and communicate about inappropriate behavior or anything that makes them feel uncomfortable. 

Definitions, PROHIBITIONS and requirements

The following terms are defined fully in the USCSS SafeSport Code, and their definitions are summarized and interpreted for Navigation Games in the section below. 

For full definitions, including examples, forms, and distinguishing behavior that does not meet the definitions, refer to the SafeSport Code. 

Participant: Any person who takes part in an event or program (including a race, training, class or workshop) hosted or sanctioned by Navigation Games. 

Bullying behavior: Repeated and/or severe aggressive behavior among minors, that is intended or likely to hurt, control or diminish another person emotionally, physically or sexually. See USCSS definitions for forms and examples. The SafeSport code defines bullying as behavior among minors; similar behavior involving adults is classified as Harassment or Hazing. 

Consent: Freely given agreement by all people involved. Once given, Consent can be withdrawn. An incapacitated person (for example, due to mental disability, alcohol use, or unconsciousness) is not able to give Consent. Consent can not be obtained from a person who is unable to refuse (for example, due to coercion, force, intimidation or misuse of a power 6 imbalance). Consent to sexual activity can not be given if there is a Power Imbalance between the parties involved. 

Covered Individual: The OUSA Safe Sport Code prohibits abuse and misconduct by anyone in our community. In the USCSS Safe Sport Code, this is termed a Covered Individual. Within Navigation Games, a Covered Individual is defined as any individual who meets any of the following criteria: 

• participates in activities organized or sanctioned by Navigation Games, 

• is a staff member, officer, volunteer or event organizer of Navigation Games, 

• is authorized to a position of authority over participants, children or staff members, or 

• is otherwise identified by Navigation Games to be within their governance or disciplinary jurisdiction. 

A Covered Adult is a Covered Individual age 18 or over. A Minor or Child is a person under the age of 18. A Covered Minor is a Covered Individual who is also a minor. 

Emotional misconduct is repeated and/or severe non-contact behavior that is likely to cause emotional harm, regardless of the intent or actual result of the behavior. Verbal acts of emotional misconduct include calling a person fat, or yelling at a participant in a manner that serves no productive training or motivational purpose. Physically aggressive acts of emotional misconduct include throwing water bottles or punching walls. Denying attention or support, or isolating or excluding a person, is also emotional misconduct. 

Harassment is repeated and/or severe conduct that causes fear, humiliation or annoyance, offends or degrades, creates a hostile environment, or reflects discriminatory bias in an attempt to establish power based on a protected category (such as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability). Stalking and sexual harassment are forms of harassment. Stalking is harassment directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for his or her safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress. Sexual harassment is harassment that includes verbal or physical behaviors of a sexual nature, such as requests for sexual favors or sexual advances. Hazing is harmful conduct made a condition of joining or being socially accepted by a group, team or organization. 

Intimate relationship. A close personal relationship that exists independently and outside of the sport relationship. Whether a relationship is intimate is based on the totality of the circumstances, including: regular contact and/or interactions outside of or unrelated to the sport relationship (electronically or in person), the parties’ emotional connectedness, the exchange of gifts, ongoing physical contact and/or sexual conduct, identity as a couple, the sharing of sensitive personal information, and/or knowledge about each other’s lives outside the sport relationship. 

Local affiliated organization (LAO) = Local club or organization that is a member of Orienteering USA National Governing Body. Orienteering USA is the National Governing Body for the sport of orienteering, and is recognized as such by the US Olympic Committee and the International Orienteering Federation. Navigation Games is a local affiliated organization.

Physical misconduct includes both contact violations and non-contact violations. Contact violations are defined as physical contact with a participant that causes or has the potential to cause bodily harm, or creates the threat of immediately bodily harm. Non-contact violations include denying adequate hydration or medical attention, providing alcohol to a person under the U.S. legal drinking age, or encouraging a Participant to return to active orienteering prematurely following a serious injury. 

Position of power. When one person has direct supervisory, evaluative or other authority over another. 

Power imbalance. A situation in which one person has power over the other. This depends on many factors and is based on the totality of the circumstances. A power imbalance is presumed to exist throughout the coach-athlete and teacher-student relationships, regardless of age, and is presumed to continue for minor athletes and students after the coach-athlete or student-teacher relationship terminates until the athlete or student reaches 20 years of age. 

Sexual Conduct. Contact and non-contact behaviors of a sexual nature. Contact sexual conduct includes any intentional bodily contact, however slight, whether clothed or unclothed, of a person’s intimate body parts, or any other intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner. Non-contact sexual conduct includes spying, exposure to pornography, exposing genitals, sexual comments, and taking or disseminating photographs of a sexual nature. 

Physical and emotional abuse and misconduct is prohibited 

A Covered Individual shall not engage in physical or emotional abuse or misconduct. 

All Navigation Games staff must be familiar with the definitions of physical and emotional abuse and misconduct, know how to recognize such abuse or misconduct, and understand the reporting requirements. 

Sexual abuse and misconduct is prohibited 

A Covered Individual shall not engage in sexual abuse or misconduct. 

All Navigation Games Staff must be familiar with the definitions of sexual abuse and misconduct, know how to recognize such abuse or misconduct, and understand the reporting requirements. 

Sexual misconduct includes 

• Sexual conduct (or attempts to commit sexual conduct) without consent. 

• Sexual conduct (or attempts to commit sexual conduct) where there is a power imbalance, regardless of purported consent. 

• Sexual harassment 

• An intimate relationship involving a person in a position of power where a power imbalance exists. The following sexual misconduct involving minors, regardless of any purported consent, is disallowed. 

• Sexual conduct (or attempts to commit sexual conduct) between a covered adult and a minor where the age difference is three or more years. Attempts to commit sexual conduct include grooming. In grooming, using a combination of attention, affection and gifts, offenders select a child, win the child’s trust (and the trust of the child’s parent or guardian), manipulate the child into sexual activity, and keep the child from disclosing abuse. 

• Sexual conduct (or attempts to commit the same) between a covered adult and a minor where the age difference is less than three years, but a power imbalance exists. 

• An intimate relationship (or attempt to establish an intimate relationship) between a covered adult and a minor where the age difference is three or more years and a power imbalance exists. 

• Sexual conduct between a covered minor and another minor if (1) the age difference is three or more years, or (2) there is a power imbalance based on the totality of the circumstances. 

Education and Training

All Navigation Games staff, whether paid or volunteer, must take the USCSS Safe Sport training or the equivalent, so that they can recognize abuse and misconduct and know how to report it.

Procedures for Compliance 

The Executive Director of Navigation Games shall be responsible for ensuring that the training policy is observed, and that all who require training get training. If there is no Executive Director, then this responsibility falls on the President. The Executive Director or President may delegate this responsibility to any number of Navigation Games Compliance Officers. 

The training may incur a cost to individuals; Navigation Games may at its discretion subsidize this cost.  

Reporting Misconduct and Enforcement 

Who Should Report 

Anyone may report suspected abuse and misconduct in the sport of orienteering, regardless of whether or not they are affiliated with OUSA. State and federal laws address who must report suspected abuse and misconduct. Nothing in this Policy should be taken to overrule state or federal law or the USCSS Code. 

Child Abuse 

All adult staff of Navigation games are required to report promptly (within 24 hours) upon becoming aware of facts that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse. “Child abuse” includes physical injury, mental injury, sexual abuse, exploitation and negligent treatment. 

Other Misconduct

All members of our orienteering community are encouraged to report suspected misconduct and/or other conduct that violates the Code. 

How to Report 

If an allegation involves child abuse or neglect, the matter must be referred to the appropriate legal authorities within 24 hours of the reporter becoming aware of said suspected abuse or neglect. State Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Numbers are available from www.childwelfare.gov. 

Conduct by a Covered Individual that is suspected to constitute abuse or misconduct should be reported to a member of Navigation Games’ Executive Director, President or other Director. 

Law Enforcement vs Navigation Games Investigations 

State and federal law enforcement may undertake criminal investigations into abuse and misconduct. Criminal law standards may differ from Navigation Games policies. Therefore, the existence of a criminal investigation does not preclude an investigation within Navigation Games, and the existence or outcome of a criminal investigation do not determine the outcome an investigation within Navigation Games. 

Retaliation 

Retaliation by a covered individual against a person for making an allegation, supporting a reporting party or providing information relevant to an allegation is not allowed. Retaliation should be reported to Orienteering USA. 

Willful Toleration 

In addition to failing to report misconduct as discussed above, it is also considered a violation of Navigation Games Policy to willfully tolerate misconduct of any kind.