Is Your Not-For Profit Attracting Perpetrators?
If you aren’t implementing best practices to keep kids safe from sexual abuse, perpetrators will be attracted to your organization.
On February 10, 2021 the Chronicle Herald reported that three local not-for profit organizations were being led (in some capacity) by Peter Alan Moorhouse who is now charged with making child pornography and making an agreement to commit a sexual offence against a child.
According to The Chronicle Herald, when these charges were laid, Moorhouse was;
President and CEO of the Atlantic Canada Better Business Bureau.
Moorhouse was (and maybe still is), on the board of Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia.
Moorhouse was Council Chair for the Bedford United Church.
The article quotes the RCMP statement, saying,
Investigators believe that Moorehouse is part of several community groups, which may have given him access to youth.
One perpetrator can reach a lot of children. Imagine the trust this man must have garnered in his community. He is a high-level business leader. A Provincial Immigration influencer. A faith leader. He clearly has/had widespread community support. No doubt, people who worked with him appreciated his skills, experience, and expertise.
What a betrayal.
And yet, those of us who confront childhood sexual abuse, and understand how it occurs, are not surprised.
We know that perpetrators go out of their way to appear trustworthy and reliable, and they seek out positions of authority.
They are not just grooming children. They are grooming the entire community. And so it is the entire community that feels violated when a situation like this comes to light.
If You Build it, They Will Come
Most of us are familiar with this iconic phrase made famous by Kevin Costner’s movie, Field of Dreams.
Many well-intentioned organizations cling to that mantra as they create opportunities and develop ideas that they hope people will utilize for the betterment of society. Most not-for profits have great intentions to have a positive impact in their communities and in the world.
But, if you build an organization that doesn’t actively make efforts to exclude perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse, those perpetrators are going to be attracted to your organization. ESPECIALLY if your organization serves children.
Having positions of leadership and influence is very attractive to those who seek to harm kids.
It’s imperative that organizations make an effort to exclude perpetrators from leadership roles in the community. Those who harm children should not have power or influence in the community. They should not work in vulnerable communities. They should not be on boards, should not be coaching, tutoring, teaching or leading in faith communities.
It's our job to keep them out of these roles. Here’s how.
Screening Volunteers and Employees
Organizations that have a well-defined hiring/selection process are off to a good start. A well-made selection process that is adhered to is an amazing step on the way to keeping perpetrators out of your organization and keeping your community safe.
Job Description
A good selection process starts with a job description. This sets the tone for good communication and clear boundaries. When you hire someone or appoint them to a position, it needs to be clear what their role and responsibilities are. The organization should have this job description in writing, and it should be reviewed at least semi-annually.
The leadership opportunity should be promoted to the broader community.
Knowing someone who would be great for the job means inviting them to apply. It is not acceptable to ‘give’ positions to someone because you know them. Not only does this put children at risk, it invites nepotism (well, it is nepotism), and creates the perfect environment for your personal biases and beliefs to have undo influence in your organization.
Often people think they are doing everyone a favour by bringing in a friend, neighbour or family member to ‘solve a problem’ in the organization. If you’re organization is skipping the selection process, you are impairing your organization’s growth and development and you are putting kids at risk.
Reference Checks
After your organization has received applicants, you will need a team to call the references that the applicant has provided. A good conversation will help you get to know more about the applicant. Even if you know the person, and you know all the references, take the time to complete the process. You may find out something you didn’t know, and, one day, if anyone HAS managed to use your organization as a means of earning trust and gaining access to kids for harm, you can at least take comfort knowing that you did EVERYTHING you could to have prevented it from happening.
Plot out your questions in advance. There are plenty of free tips on planning your reference checks that are only a search and a click away. Document what you learned about the applicant, so you can demonstrate what facts led you to make your final selection.
There are people in every community who are known to have abused children but have never been charged. For fear of being accused of slander and other repercussions, reports are not made and the perpetrators are able to continue to access children through unsuspecting organizations.
But if you ask around, you might find out that there are people who DO have concerns about your candidate.
You can also find out more about what motivates and drives your candidates. Why do they want to work in your organization? What’s in it for them?
Personally, I wonder about Moorehouse’s involvement in so many leadership roles. What motivates someone to sit on at least 3 boards? These are questions that an organization can ask about in a selection process.
Interview
When you have completed those reference checks, it’s time for an interview.
The better prepared you are, the more you will learn about the candidate.
Again, a search and a few clicks will help you plan your interview so that you can make the best decision possible for your organization. Not only will you be protecting kids, but you will be increasing your chances of selecting a high quality leader who is best suited for the role you are seeking to fill.
Criminal Record Checks
Once a candidate has been selected, you can ask for criminal record checks, vulnerable sector checks and child abuse registry checks.
It’s true that many people who have abused children have never been charged or were found not guilty and so they have no record.
But some people have been charged. And some people with records do continue to seek out leadership roles with children. So do your due diligence and make sure that you get eyes on those documents. And keep a record.
It’s important that when you are selecting or hiring someone for your organization that you have written criteria of what you are looking for in a candidate, and what you are not looking for.
This helps you to stay focused on hiring or appointing the best candidate and helps you avoid biases that can unknowingly influence decisions.
When you create and utilize a selection process, you are helping to screen out offenders and that keeps kids safe. But even if you don’t serve kids directly, an established selection process helps you to maintain a high quality organization that contributes to a thriving community.
Creating a selection process, and implementing it, is ONE best practice that organizations can utilize to keep kids safe from sexual abuse.
Join us for our monthly webinar to learn about 6 best practices that help keep kids safe.
When you are actively working to keep perpetrators of child sexual abuse OUT of your organization, you create an environment that is less attractive to those who are seeking opportunities to do harm.
THAT is a service to our community that you can be proud of.
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If the content of this article causes you distress or discomfort, please seek support.
Where to get help in Nova Scotia
Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868
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