Safe Environment for Girls

Safety Tips Adapted from Girl Scout Program Resources for Girl Scout Adults Working with Troops in Public:

  • Review the age-level specific personal safety tips above and adjust to your girls' specific needs and abilities.
  • Lead by example. For example, let the girls know where you're Going and how long you'll be gone, keep the buddy system with your adult as well and count your adults as well as your girls.
  • Always have another adult present and use the buddy system with the girls. Conduct head counts every 15 minutes or so in crowded areas.
  • Have a plan.
  • Have a meeting place if someone is separated.
  • Have a secret code word known only to you and the girls. The password will let the girls know which adults they can trust when you're not there.

Top 5 Tips for Adults:

Helping Girls Cope with Feeling Unsafe

  1. Be proactive about asking how girls feel, even if they are reluctant to talk. Don't assume to know what they consider important, and don't expect them to automatically share their concerns with parents or other adults.
  2. R Encourage working together to establish guidelines for responsible behavior. Do not judge, threaten, lecture, issue orders, or try to "teach girls a lesson" by withholding help.
  3. R Realize that a safe location is not enough. Trusted relationships, in which girls feel valued and supported, are what make girls feel emotionally safe.
  4. R Take emotional harm seriously. Typical environments, such as classrooms, sports fields, or group meetings often create situations that cause anxiety in girls. Hurtful teasing, gossiping and name-calling should be addressed by both adults and girls together.
  5. R make safety a shared goal; one that girls don't have to deal with alone.

Tags:



comments powered by Disqus