Safe to 16: A course to protect children against sexual offenders
Safe to 16: A course to protect children against sexual offenders
Te Rarāwa leader Dame Whina Cooper “Te Whaea o te Motu”, the ‘mother of our nation’ asked all of us to take care of our children.
As more adults complete the course there are more Super Heroes to build a wall of protection around our babies.
By getting to this point in the course you’ve proved that you’re up for the challenge! Ka pai tõ mahi! (you’re doing great!)
Now it’s time to become a STAR!
The ‘Whānau Agreement Plan’ is a document where you have a discussion with your children to agree on four rules to keep them safe and protected!:
1. No Secrets
2. No Touching
3. Never Alone
4. Relaying the Rules
The Whānau Agreement Plan gives you prompts on how to start each conversation.
You can either fill in the boxes on this page, or download the document by clicking on the link.
*It will be natural for children to ask questions about their ‘swimsuit areas’ Let them know that one day they may want to have children of their own to love and look after – just as you do.
Babies are created out of the private areas covered by swimsuits.
A baby is a gift – a Taonga.
As an adult they will know when it is time for that to happen.
Until then the swimsuit areas are sacred – Tapu.
Once completed we suggest you put it on your fridge.
This is a reminder to your children that their safety is paramount
Please remember – I’ve been sexually abused as child; trained as a police officer; trained as a criminal profiler; have interviewed and arrested these type of offenders, and also founded a nationwide youth intervention program – yet I could not pick out a sexual offender in a crowd.
The plant in our logo is a flax known as Harakeke.
In this picture you can see how the plant represents family (whānau) in Māori thought.
It’s now time to build a fortress of protection around your children. People like me would consider it an honour and a privilege to be invited and trained to protect your children – so don’t be afraid to ask!