Have you Heard?

[Naito_Mitsukai]

Anybody else heard about this?

Quote:

The SCA has long had a policy of parents being ultimately responsible for their children at SCA activities. We have policies in place prohibiting a single adult from being alone in supervising youth that are not their children by birth or legal document. These have not sufficed to prevent harm to some of our minor participants at the hands of adult participants.

Since 2002, there have been 88 revocation and denial of membership decisions rendered by the Board of Directors. 29 of these have been for conviction of predatory crimes. 24 of these have been with regard to abuse of minors. It would seem clear that the old policies are not sufficient to protect our minor participants. Any number greater than zero of these incidents is profoundly unacceptable.

There are many organizations similar to the SCA in that they have well-defined programs for minor participants. These organizations conduct a due-diligence check of volunteers who would like to be in positions of control, teaching, or supervision of minor participants. The vast majority of these organizations vet possible volunteers via background check. There are a variety of methods used.

The SCA feels a responsibility to the wellbeing of our minor participants and will implement a program of background checks to enhance their safety.

Some Questions and answers about this endeavor follow:

Q: Are Kingdoms required to implement the Society policy?

A: Once upheld by the Board of Directors, the Kingdoms will have a timeline to implement the policy or cease offering youth-activity programs.


Q: I had a background check for work. Can you just use that?

A: No. All checks for this program will be performed according to the same criteria and by the same vendor for all participants. The vendor is a licensed, bonded provider of background examinations.


Q: Will the SCA be privy to specific details of my background, whether I pass the exam or not?

A: No. The SCA will only receive a pass or a fail notice from the background-examination provider.


Q: Will my personal information be exposed to other SCA participants?

A: No. Information is provided directly to the vendor in order to perform the background examination, and does not go through the SCA.


Q: How long is my pass status good for?

A: It is planned that the pass status will be good for two years.


Q: Will all existing officers have to be checked?

A: All officers/volunteers with supervisory positions, teaching, or direct control of minor participants - new or existing - would require a background examination.

My shire news letter group had an eruption of controversial comments made back and forth for a few days on this about the background check giving them acess to everything!! Your SIN number must be provided, they can check out anything, and with little more information someone could steal your identity. And that you're trusting people you've never met. And many other points being thrown back and forth - starting with one of our biggest members (take into consideration that our shire is very small, and we only have a few BIG players who make up the main components of it, and organize everything!!) deciding that the game was officially more grief, politics, frustration, and over-al work then the came is now worth, and he has since decided to quit. He's been playing for MANY MANY years, and things he's said have been getting progressively worse, and he has now decided that's it! He's done!

~~
You must have steel blades to do rapier
You must report as the web minister to Principality
You must have background checks done on anyone dealing with youth or quit offering programs for youth (and the checks must be done every two years)
You must fill out more paperwork to go to an event than you do to get a drivers license.
Those background checks can be quite expensive
~~


"This used to be a game of chivalry and honour, where those that did not play with chivalry and honour did not stick around because those that did wouldn't let them."

I agree with that statement, and I think it's a HUGE loss, and I really think it sucks. And I'm afraid if these types of things keep popping up ... That the SCA will run itself into the ground!! crying heart I'm starting to hear things like this more & more 'it's not the same' 'it's not fun anymore' 'I'm not sure if it's worth all the trouble and expence now'.

.... ~prepairs herself for getting flamed~ whee  

[Naito_Mitsukai]

Different peoples' views and/or opinions! sweatdrop When one is strong, be it 'right' or 'wrong', that could insult someone else, whether they be 'right' or 'wrong', Can still cause heated arguments! sweatdrop  

[LittleGreenGirl]

Yeah, but people are pretty level headed around here. Hence only 3 mods, one of which isn't even ever on Gaia anymore.

As to the issue itself...

I can see where some people would get irritated at the idea of the background checks... I'm even weary of them... but at the same time, these are children. We need to do everything possible to ensure their safety from predators. Personally, I would rather that the SCA REQUEST checks instead of REQUIRE them, but it's not really up to me. What DOES need to be enforced by threat of shutting down activities, though, is the "Two or more adults present at all times" rule. I think the reason things have still slipped is the lack of enforcement of that rule.

but that's just me...  

[Naito_Mitsukai]

Yes, but if you're motivated enough, it doesn't take that much to completly fake a background - to change the person you are to get past those things (I mean really, I doubt a preditor is going to be stupid enough to NOT try to hide their charges or whatever).

And this only accounts for the members. How many SCA events have new people, who aren't registered members yet? I'm still not!! (I'll get around to it, I swear!! sweatdrop whee ) How many are open events, that have people who just wonder in, borrow something fron gold key, and join in for the day?
How much do you want to bet that the majority of those incidences were not actual registered members? How much do you want to bet most of these weren't even unregistered SCA members?

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that there's no chance of a registered SCA member being a 'child molester' or a 'preditor'! All I'm saying is in my opinion, I doubt that the majority - hell, I doubt even half of those incidences were of registered SCA members.

Sooooooooo I don't think the background checks are going to really do all that much. Except drive people away - keep people from taking position within the SCA, and simply agrivate many long-time members!

I mean really - I can see the preditors going 'oh .. well... can't be a registered member now ... so I just won't pay membership fees or hold office! mrgreen ' Or something along those lines.  

[Regular Polyhedra]

Honestly, I gave up on the SCA over a year ago. Too much politics on one end, and frat party with a ******** theme on the other. No to mention that it is simply too expensive for a poor gal like me.
Then you add in s**t like this. *sigh*

Has anyone heard a story (People in western Washington/north Idaho are probably the only ones who might have) of a young girl getting flashed at an event? It was me. I was 13, and he'd JUST gotten his AoA THAT ******** NIGHT.

He still plays, when he should have been arrested for indecent exposure, and I think in Idaho that counts as sexual molestation.

The SCA is too broken for any one rule to fix.

Chivalry is a nearly extinct concept.

heart  

[north_of_nita]

I think the background checks are a good thing, it might keep more people in check and cut down on all the drinking at events. Even with the background checks theres still the chance of somthing happening, I do agree with the two adult thing, one male on female. All this might seem like BS but if its makeing the world safer for kids who cares. Everyone should have a background check done to be anywhere near a child even parents and other family members. You have to get background checks in just about everything else to do with minors why not the SCA?  

[LoneDuke]

UnseelieSidhe

The SCA is too broken for any one rule to fix.

Chivalry is a nearly extinct concept.

heart

I agree! The worst part is you never know who is doing the checking.  

[Regular Polyhedra]

LoneDuke

UnseelieSidhe

The SCA is too broken for any one rule to fix.

Chivalry is a nearly extinct concept.

heart

I agree! The worst part is you never know who is doing the checking.

Not to mention that background checks aren't gonna tell you the whole story. I have a friend who has a felony for kidnapping, but the 'kidnapping' was him taking his children away from abuse.

Also, I have had the misfortune of running into ***** where there shouldn't be any, they simply hadn't gotten caught yet, and so had no record.

Background checks won't help.

The SCA is dead. I'm starting to get into another group, and there's no local branch, so I'm gonna try to help start one here. The knights and the founders set the tone, and it'll be differe, damn it. And anyone who breaks the law will be ejected. Forcefully. D<

heart  

[Snaebjorn]

Well. Lots to say on this I see. Unfortunately it seems everyone is just having a fit because its going to cost them either money or time.

First off. Its the Kingdom's responbility to pay for the background checks. Not yours.

Second. They know its not going to stop alot of these people. Especially those who've never gotten caught.

The whole thing is a legal cover for the Society's a**. Its to help cover against lawsuits. Once this starts they can legally say "We had no idea this person did this kind of stuff and we will be throwing him out of the group as soon as possible."

The SCA is currently being sued for the SCA member who was molesting children in PA. The Society as a whole didn't know and sure as hell didn't sanction the guy. But its their fault somehow.

As for you being flashed at an event Unseelie. Sorry that happened. But part of life is that there are bad eggs in every single group. I agree the man should have been arrested though. Don't think I don't. You flash anyone and you should be arrested. The SCA has an estimated membership of both unpaid and paid members at around 80-90 thousand people. Only a third of those are paid members.

These background checks are a legal out to avoid lawsuits and a way to stop those who are on record as molestors or what not from being officers in the SCA. If they don't have a record and get caught they get tossed out. Full Revocation and Denial of Membership. They show up at an SCA event they can be arrested for trespassing.

There are alot of polotics in this group. It will happen in every single organization with more then just the founders for members. Its called human nature. We fight with each other. In peaceful groups we tend to do this by setting up pecking orders and thus polotics are born.