View all Best Practices

Select A Best Practice to View:

  • 1. Form a Child Safety Committee
  • 2. Create Opportunities for Community Dialogue
  • 3. Screen Employees and Volunteers
  • 4. Assess your Space
  • 5. Implement Guidelines for Interacting with Youth
  • 6. Train Adults
  • 7. Support Victim-Survivors
  • 8. Develop Protocols for Responding
  • 9. Empower Youth
  • 10. Maintain & Evaluate your Child Safety Program

Support Victim-Survivors

לִמְדוּ הֵיטֵב דִּרְשׁוּ מִשְׁפָּט אַשְּׁרוּ חָמוֹץ שִׁפְטוּ יָתוֹם רִיבוּ אַלְמָנָה

Learn to do good. Devote yourself to justice; aid the victim. Uphold the rights of the orphan; defend the cause of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

Why Support Victim-Survivors?

Supporting victim-survivors is one of the most sacred steps in the work of safeguarding our children. Best Practice 7: Support Victim-Survivors fosters the intentional design of welcoming and supportive spaces for our entire community, including those who have experienced child maltreatment or other forms of abuse. Whether they are public about their personal histories or not, more than a quarter of the participants and leaders in our communities have experienced some form of child maltreatment. When we support and stand with victim-survivors, we send a clear message to everyone in the community. We are here for you. We will work together to create a safer community for our children. Children will learn that if they come forward with disclosures of maltreatment, they will be protected and our organizations will take action.

All too often, victim-survivors are doubted or left without the necessary Jewish communal support, leading to significant secondary trauma. In contrast, when victim-survivors experience an organization as welcoming and trauma-informed, they are more likely to attend, share, heal together, and feel empowered to discuss their experiences. Through this process, communities gain valuable insights, which regularly lead to the increased safety of children. Jews are reminded in the Book of Isaiah that we are responsible for supporting victim-survivors and strengthening them throughout all journeys towards healing.

Supporting Victim-Survivors includes the Following Steps:

  • Goal

    1

    Giving a Voice to Victim-Survivors
  • Goal

    2

    Training Materials

Tools to Guide You in Implementation:

  •  
    Pre-Survey
    Survey
  •  
    Sample: Introductions to Prayers
    Sample
  •  
    The Rabbit Listened by Cori Doerrfeld
    Video
  •  
    The Rabbit Listened Facilitators Guide
    Guide
  •  
    Safety Respect Equity Network's Responding to Disclosures
    Video
  •  
    Safety Respect Equity Network's Responding to Disclosures Handouts
    Handout
  •  
    Recognizing and Responding to Youth Disclosures
    Guide
  •  
    Training Videos: Recognizing and Responding to Youth Disclosures
    Video

Join the Campaign Today.

By joining the Aleinu campaign you will receive access to our do-it-yourself toolkit containing resources for adopting and implementing best practices to ensure the safety of children in your care. Your YSO will join other organizations all working to implement two or more best practices each year over the next five years.

Join Now