SCARS RECEIVES THE ‘DARKNESS TO LIGHT TIPPING POINT AWARD’

“Bermuda is the first country in the world to have trained 10% of the adult population!

This is considered reaching ‘Tipping Point’ a measurement Darkness to Light uses based on Malcolm Gladwell’s book of the same name.    Tipping Point is a theory presented in his book called “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”.  The basic theory is that if 5% of a given population changes their behavior, a cultural shift is created and a momentum builds, that, with continued work, may change societal values.   A training goal of 5% of the adult population of a given community will create a change in the norm such that child sexual abuse is no longer tolerated.

It makes sense to apply the tipping point theory to a community-based child sexual abuse prevention initiative.  SCARS Bermuda is serious and committed to this initiative.

As of January 31, 2018, SCARS has trained 6,633 adults in sexual abuse prevention.  With a population of 50,690 adults, this now represents 12% of our adult population in Bermuda.  The protection of our children in Bermuda is gaining traction as a social norm.

Because of our work in the community, changes are being made to better protect our children.  Several schools, sporting clubs, churches, clubs, and camps across the island are taking the initiative on their own to become certified in prevention.  They are offering the SCARS training to their staff & volunteers, and finding ways to reduce risk by eliminating or reducing isolated one-on-one situations.  Organizations are installing windows in their doors, they are working on implementing codes of conduct, they are creating social media policies, travel policies and transportation policies. All of these things help reduce risk and will help keep our children in Bermuda safe.

We cannot tell you how transformative this is – first for our children, and secondly for the health of our country overall.

We commend and applaud our community for making the commitment to protect children and future generations of children on our island!”