Recently, the Chalmers Team had the opportunity to host Meredith Bunnel, Director of Research & Strategic Engagement at Praesidium, for a webinar focused on what the latest research tells us about abuse prevention in youth serving organizations—and what that means for camps and programs as we prepare for another summer. This week’s blog provides a summary of this webinar with Meredith, as she helped us unpack this research.
The Good News: Prevention Really Is Making a Difference
Recent national research looking at child sexual abuse (CSA) across major youth serving organizations found something encouraging: a 31% decline over time in reported CSA {1} within six of the largest national organizations—often referred to as “The Big 6”:
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America
- Boy Scouts of America
- Girl Scouts of the USA
- YMCA of the USA
- 4 H
That’s a big deal. It shows that being thoughtful and consistent across the entire organization can reduce abuse. Researchers point to a consistent theme across these organizations: safety culture was treated as a core value, not just a requirement to check off a list.
Prevention Isn’t One Thing—It’s Everything
One of the most important takeaways from Meredith’s presentation about the research was a simple reminder: there’s no single fix when it comes to preventing abuse.
Researchers found more than 1,400 different prevention elements being used across youth serving organizations. {2} No single policy, training, background check, or rule explained success. What did? A safety culture that shows up in everyday moments — in how people lead, how they interact with each other, and how decisions get made. For many camps, that consistency comes from living into the core values that shape your mission each day—values like respect, kindness, building confidence, and helping young people form healthy, positive friendships.
- And while 1,400 elements can sound overwhelming, Meredith was quick to point out that effective programs tend to share a few key qualities:
Safety is reflected in how staff and volunteers are hired, trained, supervised, and evaluated - Behavioral expectations are clear, modeled consistently, and enforced, with an emphasis on what is appropriate—not just what isn’t
- Reporting concerns feels normal, supported, and taken seriously
- Leadership doesn’t just approve prevention efforts—they actively support, model, participate in them
At its best, prevention simply becomes “how we do things here,” not an extra task added to an already long to do list.
Understanding Grooming: A Key Part of Prevention
- In a separate and equally important study focused on grooming, researchers examined how abuse typically unfolds and how we can learn from these grooming behaviors to further inform prevention efforts. Through extensive interviews with survivors, researchers learned:
99% reported experiencing at least one grooming behavior {3} - On average, survivors experienced about 14 different grooming behaviors, meaning there may be up to 14 chances to notice and interrupt concerning behaviors
One especially important takeaway for camps is the power of training staff and volunteers to recognize grooming behaviors (often called red flag behaviors). When staff feel confident—not just comfortable—interrupting concerning behavior or reporting a concern, it can potentially derail an attempt at grooming, or at the very least, reinforce clear expectations around boundaries and behavior at camp.
So What Does it All Mean?
Child abuse prevention work can feel heavy, especially when it requires ongoing attention year after year. But the good news is the prevention efforts being made in youth serving programs are making a difference. The research is clear and aligns with what we already know about camps – it all comes down to your culture. The small, consistent choices you and your teams make every day are helping create safer, healthier spaces for young people.
As you head into another busy season, take a moment to recognize what you’re already doing well. Staying committed to prevention isn’t about doing more—it’s about continuing to live out the values at the heart of your mission.
A huge shout out to Meredith Bunnel for sharing this research and to the teams at Praesidium that engage in this work every day. To learn more about Praesidium and their work, visit praesidiuminc.com or reach out to inquiries@praesidiuminc.com
[1] Assini-Meytin, L.C., McPhail I., Sun, Y., Mathews, B., Kaufman, K.L., Letourneau, E.J. Child Sexual Abuse and Boundary Violating Behaviors in Youth Serving Organizations: National Prevalence and Distribution by Organizational Type. Child Maltreatment, Vol. 0(0) 1-13 (2024).
[2] Assini-Meytin, L.C., Kaufman, K.L., Mathews, B., Palmer, D.A., Ingram, M., Letourneau, E.J. Preventing and responding to child sexual abuse: Organizational Efforts. Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 112 (2021).
[3] Winters, G.M., Jeglic, E.L., Johnson, B.N., Chou, C. The prevalence of sexual grooming behaviors among survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 154 (August 2024).