Child Protection Professionals Conduct Training for GBC Members During AGM

The GBC dedicated half day on the last day of their five-day annual meetings to Child Protection Training for its members. Professional experts in the area of Child Protection namely Dr K.P. Asha Mukundan and Nitai Joseph made presentations to the GBC followed by valuable inputs and suggestions for improvising child abuse awareness and screening systems by Kamlesh Krishna Das, Director, CPO Global.

The first presentation was offered by Dr K.P. Asha Mukundan, Asst. Professor, TISS and Chairperson, Centre for Criminology and Justice at School of Social Work, Mumbai. She explained the concept of Child Protection from the perspective of child abuse, child neglect, child exploitation and violence against children. She shared slides on Rights of Children, ways to uphold trust of children in parents, leaders, etc, institutional liability of an organisation in relation to child abuse and child labour and the need for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse. 

The presentation was well received and was followed by fifteen minutes of questions.

The second presenter was Nitai Joseph who is based in Washington DC area where he works full time as Program and Research Manager for a child sexual abuse prevention nonprofit. He joined the meeting as a child abuse prevention specialist who also has understanding of ISKCON and its unique needs. 

Nitai Joseph provided an in-depth presentation and analysis on topics such as Complex trauma and addressing child abuse in ISKCON, Betrayal blindness and Institutional betrayal, the impact of developmental abuse, difference between Trauma and Complex Trauma and the myths and realities in relation to Child Sexual Abuse.

Kamlesh Krishna Das, Director – Child Protection Office, spoke on the impact of child sexual abuse and the need for awareness, prevention and training at all levels within ISKCON.
He stressed the need to have effective screening systems in place at all ISKCON centers and reminded the leaders of the existing requirements for mandatory reporting of child abuse.

The GBC members expressed their gratitude to all the Child Protection experts for their relevant presentations on Child Protection and valuable insights on how to help ISKCON protect its children and communities. 

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