At some point, your campers may tell you that someone has molested them. This may have occurred at home or at camp. If this happens, we want you to be prepared to help the child. Follow the guidelines below if a child indicates that he or she may have been the victim of abuse or exploitation:
DON'T panic or overreact to the information disclosed by the child.
DON'T criticize the child or claim that the child misunderstood what happened.
DO respect the child's privacy. Take the child to a place where you cannot be overheard by the other campers. It is important that you discuss the child's situation only with the camp director and camp nurse or with the child protective services agency for your province. It should not become the topic of conversation in the staff lounge. Camp is a hard place to keep information confidential. Your campers should not have to pay the price of your indiscretion and become the subject of camp gossip.
DO encourage the camper to tell the camp director or camp nurse. Make sure that the child feels that he or she is not to blame for what happened. Tell the child that no one should ask him or her to keep a special secret and that it is okay to talk with appropriate adults about what happened. Try to avoid repeated interviews about the incident. This can be very stressful for the child.