EDCON 2018: #METOO
Promoting a safe environment
for healthy development is our
most basic responsibility as circus
educators. Preventing sexual
abuse is at the very core of this
obligation. As youth workers and
professionals, many circus educators
are already mandated by laws and/
or organizational policies to prevent
and report the suspected abuse of
minors, as well as related violations
of civil rights. This includes sexual
harassment and discrimination
involving anyone affiliated with the
organization.
In the last several years, as
courageous survivors continue
to speak out, recognition of the
realities of abuse across all types
of organizations has grown globally.
AYCO/ACE has expressed its
interest in increasing the capacity
of circus educators and youth
circus programs to better protect
our community from all forms of
abuse. In 2011, AYCO endorsed eight
“Core Competencies for Youth
Circus Practitioners,” one of which
specifically prioritizes physical and
emotional safety. In 2017, ACE/
AYCO formed a Health and Wellness
Committee, and by early 2018, AYCO/
ACE issued a Community Update to
help our members address these
issues. An additional update was
issued in June of 2018, which can
be found under Health and Wellness
Committee Resources on the AYCO
website.
The 2018 ACE EdCon provided an
important national opportunity
to build educators’ skills in abuse
prevention and response. The pre-
conference email to registrants
included a note from the AYCO/ACE
Health and Wellness Committee,
which stated the following:
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ACE acknowledges that sexual
abuse & harassment is an essential
and challenging topic for ACE and
all organizations and individuals
to address. We want to work
together with all ACE conference
participants & members to
support a safe space for all,
especially survivors.
Workshops and a keynote
addressing abuse prevention and
response are included on the
conference schedule. All who wish
to support safer practices and
survivors are invited to attend —
and to practice self-care and ask
for support as needed. Local rape
crisis center (www.dayleague.org)
& child advocacy center (www.
georgiacenterforchildadvocacy.
org) Information for the Decatur
area will be available at the ACE
Wellness Committee table.
From workshops like Violet Defiant’s “Consent-based Games” to Lynette
Lau’s “Trauma-informed Programs” and Kristina Wicke’s “Healthy
Relationships in the Workplace,” there were more opportunities at EdCon
2018 than ever before to learn from the circus educators who are leading
the way toward abuse prevention. The many participants presenting on this
topic were invited by the Health and Wellness Committee to meet during
the opening reception, which offered an opportunity for mutual support
in addressing these challenging issues at the conference. It also supported
a consistent framework for promoting safety throughout the conference,
such as explicitly reinforcing the pre-conference message within our own
workshops.
I was honored to have the opportunity to co-present three workshops on
sexual abuse prevention on behalf of the Health and Wellness Committee
at EdCon 2018 alongside committed colleagues sharing their ever-evolving
efforts to cultivate cultures of safety and respect:
• “ACE/AYCO Health & Wellness Committee Update on Abuse Prevention
& Response Efforts” with ACE/AYCO Exec Director Amy Cohen and ACE/
AYCO Board Member and Health & Wellness Committee Chair Anne
Miller
• “Safety Beyond Mats: Principles, processes and practices to prevent
sexual, physical and emotional abuse in circus education; examples from
the field” with Jen Carlo of Circus Smirkus and Henry Wheaton of SHOW
Circus Studio
• “Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response Basic Training for Circus
Programs,” an adaptation of my training originally developed with and
for Circus Smirkus camp and Big Top Tour staff.
Across all three workshops we heard time and again the importance of
prioritizing resources and collaboration toward this essential aspect
of safety, resonant with achieving our other goals in circus and youth
development.
On the final day of the conference, we had the privilege of hearing “lessons
learned” from a sister industry’s national non-profit, “Youth Protection
Advocates in Dance.” Sammi Rader, MSW and YPAD Advisory Board Member,
presented a plenary keynote on “Prioritizing Child Protection in the Circus
Community,” which can be found here.
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