Tzedek congratulates Chabad Youth
Child sexual abuse advocacy group Tzedek has congratulated Melbourne’s Chabad Youth on becoming accredited under the Australian Childhood Foundation Safeguarding Children Program.
Manny Waks
Tzedek’s CEO Manny Waks said: “It is a great reflection on the organisation under the leadership of Rabbi Moshe Kahn; it demonstrates that they are indeed taking the issue of child protection seriously. The community, especially the parents and guardians who send their children to Chabad Youth programs, can rest assured that the safety of their children is now being taken seriously.
We remind parents and guardians of children that they must always remain vigilant. While the safety of their child may have been enhanced as a result of such programs, there is never a foolproof system. A determined paedophile may still ultimately be in a position to sexually abuse your child. Importantly, you can never outsource the safety of your child. It is your responsibility to educate your child about these issues. A multifaceted approach – education from the home, as well as education and an appropriate culture and policies within an institution and the broader community – is the ideal way to minimise the vulnerability of your child.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind the Yeshivah Centre leadership, under which Chabad Youth operates, that the actions of one or more of its subsidiaries will not repair the damage to their reputation and absolve them of their responsibility for their past transgressions. The broader Jewish community is still awaiting justice and accountability. And Tzedek will pursue this through every available avenue.”
Chabad Youth Victoria’s statement: “It is with great pleasure that we announce that Chabad Youth has successfully completed the Australian Childhood Foundation Accreditation Program for Safeguarding Children and is now a Safeguarding Children Accredited Organisation. We are also proud that Chabad Youth is a pioneer in this field being one of the first Youth organisations of its kind and also one of the first Jewish-focused organisations to become accredited.
At Chabad Youth, we have a strong commitment to maintaining best practice standards for protecting children and young people from abuse and exploitation, which is why we decided to take part in this voluntary accreditation process. Child safety is of paramount importance at Chabad Youth.
Rabbi Moshe Kahn who drove the entire process proudly stated that “the welfare of our children is of paramount importance and we, at Chabad youth are committed to safeguarding children and young people in our care ensuring that they feel and are safe at all times.”
In order to become accredited, Chabad Youth successfully met each of the elements in all (7) evidence-based standards that focus on building a protective organisation for children and young people.
These are:
1. Commitment to safeguard children and young people
2. Personnel roles and conduct
3. Recruitment and screening
4. Personnel induction and training
5. Involving children and parents in safeguarding
6. Child abuse reports and allegations
7. Supporting and improving a child-safe culture
The auditors were exceptionally impressed with Chabad Youth’s achievements in this area. Some of the comments included in the reports were that:
– Rabbi Moshe Kahn, Director of Chabad Youth, has taken a very active role in Child Protection matters. He acts not only as coordinator of all Child Protection matters but also drives the culture from the top.
– Rabbi Moshe Kahn is prepared to allocate sufficient resources to develop and implement the safeguarding policies and is a motivator and driver for the overall practice.
– There is a willingness amongst all people involved including parents, children and young people to speak about issues related to child safety and about Chabad Youth organisation, in general.
As a reflection of our strong commitment to child safety and protection, Chabad Youth is very focused on reducing the risks of abuse on children and young people by employees, volunteers and any “involved personnel” at Chabad Youth.
We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Jack and Robert Smorgon Families Foundation, who share our vision to protect children and young people from any form of abuse.
Unsolicited, patronising eitzes.
Chabad, I am sure, can handle the situation on their own and Tzedek would be the last to give advice considering the seriously damaging statements regarding Jewish Orthodoxy offered by Tzedek at last year’s hearings on child abuse.