How to respond to a child if they say they have been abused?

1. Check your surroundings – ensure PRIVACY

2. Your main focus when a student is disclosing to you is to listen to all the information the student is providing to you, providing empathy and compassion to that student. You are not the detective; be cautious of the amount of questions you ask as we do not want to “coach” a student/minor.

   • You can ask clarifying questions such as: [who, what, where] & Try to be mindful when asking questions of: your tone, victim blaming statements, your facial expressions.

   • Allow student to ‘describe/disclose’ in words they choose- correct “terminology” is not necessary.

I.e.: “Could you tell me more about the game you and ___ played?” “Could you tell me more about where you were when this happened?” “Could you tell me more about who _____ is, do they live with you? Do you have to see them a lot?”

3. Be aware of your proximity/space and be caution when institutionally wanting to comfort student with touching or hugs.

4. During and after the student is disclosing you can say things like: I am so sorry ____ , You’re so brave to share this information with me and I want to help you, I’m glad you found the courage to tell someone, keeping this a secret/ to yourself would be so tough.

5. Students worry about social media back last, harassment, and being an outcast

Do not go behind a students “back” and make decisions and procedures without informing the student. – WE NEED TO BE VICTIM CENTERED.

REMIND student that it is not to get the student in trouble or to ‘make things worse’

Think about other accommodations that could occur for the safety of the student: transfer of classes, different hallway patterns, increased punishment for offender/offender friends who harass/spread rumors. [more likely in junior high]