AY Honor Personal Safety Answer Key
Skill Level
1
Year
2023
Version
12.10.2025
Approval authority
Australian Union
The recommendation before delivering the honour is to have a read and think how best to approach it based on your knowledge of the children in your club.
Some have suggested a small blurb to the parents or guardians to prepare them for the questions that may follow the discussions, to the effect, the club will be running an honor that teaches Pathfinders:
- The value God places on each of our children.
- An understanding of what ‘personal safety’ means.
- The importance of learning about personal safety and an understanding of what situations are ‘unsafe’ or dangerous.
- To consider what they would do if they felt that they were in danger or unsafe.
- To nominate who their trusted persons are (who they would tell if they felt unsafe or in danger).
- Consider other supports available.
NOTE: Whether you share this blurb with the parents or guardians is your choice. There is the argument that this may alert abusers to remove their children from the discussion or use coercive measures to silence victims. This honour needs to be a requirement for all Pathfinders and any aversion detected should be a "red flag" if parents, guardians, or carers were thinking of withdrawing their child from it. The parent/carer information session needs to be implemented as well.
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READ TO PATHFINDERS
This honour helps you to identify unsafe situations and create a plan to seek help and support.
Through the Bible and the writing of Ellen White there are many examples of how God tells us that He loves us. He constantly reminds us of our value to Him.
ACTIVITY 1
Please read the summaries of the verses below and ask the Pathfinders to write down a take-away thought about their value to God. “What do you feel God is saying to you personally in these verses”?
Alternatively, ask the Pathfinders to participate by reading out the verses and ask those who wish to share, to participate in a discussion about these texts and for everyone to make a note of the take-away thought.
- Psalm 139:13-14 -
- ‘For you formed my inward parts…. you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made’.
- Romans 5:8 -
- ‘But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners’.
- Matthew 6:25-34 -
- God is telling you not to worry. He says all you need to do is focus on building a relationship with Him and He will provide what you need because He knows your every need. He’s got our back!
- Jeremiah 29:11 -
- God knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
- John 3:16 -
- God loves you, us… so much that He sent His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
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READ TO PATHFINDERS
We will now try and define ‘personal safety’.
‘Safety‘ is the state of being safe from harm or danger.
‘Personal’ is about you. Personal Safety is when you are safe and feel safe.
This honour looks at how you relate to, connect, and interact with adults and children.
The purpose of Pathfinders is to help you:
- Develop your self-worth in a fun, safe and caring environment.
- Develop an appreciation of Christian spirituality and its role in personal lifestyle.
- In the development of leadership and positive group skills, teamwork, and fun problem-solving experiences.
- Focus on developing skills in outdoor and environmental issues through practical camping, hiking, nature study and other outdoor adventure activities.
- Get exposure to a wide range of skills, crafts, arts, and other practical skills.
- To discover the joy in serving others.
- Cultivate a good healthy lifestyle that says no to any drugs or any other harmful substances.
ACTIVITY 2
- Please ask the Pathfinders to write down what personal safety means to them.
READ TO PATHFINDERS
Unsafe – is where a child is physically hurt, bullied, sexually abused, or where someone makes a child feel scared or uncomfortable by what they do or say to that child.
Unsafe could be:
- Where a child’s basic needs are not met – which if met would allow for their proper growth and development. For example, lack of food, clothing, shelter, medical, education and adequate supervision.
- Where a child suffers physical injury or a pattern of physical injuries that are not accidental.
- Behaviour by an adult or another child that destroys a child’s self-confidence and their ability to develop as they should naturally. For example, persistently rejecting or isolating a child from normal social experiences/ friendships, terrorising a child through verbal abuse, or bullying, ignoring a child, or corrupting a child.
- Where a child is made to participate in a sexual activity (by an adult or another child). The person may be using their power (stronger, bigger, older) and/or authority over a child or taking advantage of a child’s trust. This can involve a wide range of sexual activity. Bribes or threats are often used to make them participate in the activity.
- Where a child is present during family violence: family violence means violent, threatening, or other behaviour by a person that coerces (using forces or threats) to control a member of the person’s family (the family member) or causes the family member to be fearful. Examples of behaviour that may be family violence include (but are not limited to): an assault; a sexual assault or other sexually abusive behaviour; or stalking; or unreasonably withholding financial support etc.
- Where a child is bullied by an adult or another child – the bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour and can cause harm to the health and safety of that child.
ACTIVITY 2.1
- Ask Pathfinders to write a few lines about what they think the term ‘unsafe’ means. Alternatively engage the group in a discussion about this (3-4 mins) and then encourage them to write down what they understand.
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READ TO PATHFINDERS
It is important that children learn about Personal Safety and that you know simple ways to keep yourselves safe. This helps you to build confidence and resilience.
NOTES
This is an interactive moment - Ask the Pathfinders if they know what the word ’resilience’ means?’
RESILIENCE MEANS
The ability to cope when things go wrong, moving forward after difficult times and being able to deal with challenges whilst still holding your head up.
When you learn about personal safety you learn:
- How to avoid unsafe or uncomfortable situations.
- How to respond to an unsafe or scary situation.
- Increase your sense of confidence and in doing so, increases ability to keep going even in difficult times and look forward to each new day.
- Increases your knowledge of your personal rights, for example the right to feel safe with people, the right to mix with other children and adults without being hurt by them in anyway.
- Increases the likelihood that you will talk to someone you trust if you feel unsafe or uncomfortable to get support.
NOTES
- As you are going through the examples, you can make it interactive by asking the Pathfinders to ‘vote’ by using the thumbs up/down response to each statement. Or ask the Pathfinders for some examples of appropriate and inappropriate scenarios. This is a learning environment and therefore an opportunity for them to learn from each other or even test out situations they may be dealing with or have been aware of.
Let’s talk through a few examples of behaviour that is NOT OK:
- Complementing you on your looks all the time.
- Communicating with you outside of the usual channels of communication i.e., personal correspondence (including emails, social media, and web forums) rather than sending letters home or talking with the parents). Spending more time with you, showing favouritism, or giving you special attention.
- Having inappropriate conversations with you about their former sexual partners or crushes.
- Inappropriately touching you (even where the body parts involved may not be overtly sexual, for example massaging you in circumstances where that would not be part of the worker or volunteer’s role).
For example, grooming can mean an adult at school starts to pay you a lot of attention and befriends you and asks you to meet them somewhere away from everyone else. They say they want to give you gifts and may even start making friends with your parents.
We want all children to develop and grow as intended and designed by God. We want you all to be happy and confident as you learn about and walk with Jesus every day.
NOTES
Ask the Pathfinders how someone may feel if they are hurt by an adult (even a family member or another child, another student/Pathfinder/ cousin, niece etc).
When an adult or another child hurts you, it makes you unhappy, not confident, isolated, and withdrawn. We do not want this for any of you. We want you to know how to be safe and to tell someone if something happens that makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
Activity 3
Why is it important for you and other children to learn about personal safety?
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NOTES
You can ask the Pathfinders to respond with thumbs/ hands up or down.
READ TO PATHFINDERS
- Trust your feelings and distinguish between ‘yes’ and ‘no’ feelings – e.g., everyone is out walking on Sabbath afternoon, and a Pathfinder leader says, let’s have a prayer to close Sabbath – that is a yes feeling. On the other hand, everyone is out for walk and a Pathfinder leader wants to take you off the walking track, alone to show you something - that would be a ‘no’ feeling. Another example of a ‘no’ feeling is where the leader wants to hug you or put his/her/their arm around you often.
- Say ‘no’ to adults if you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unsure – for example if they touch or want to hold you often. This may also include other Pathfinders talking about sex, making sexual gestures, or commenting on things of a sexual nature.
- You should know that you own your body – you are valuable to God, as we talked about at the start. Your body is special - you have the right to protect yourself and your body from things that you are not comfortable with. The private parts of your body are the parts of the body that are covered by a bathing suit. Your body belongs to you, and you get to say who touches it. Occasionally a doctor/nurse (at their office/hospital) or parent might need to check your private parts if you have a rash, are having trouble going to the bathroom, or something is hurting you, would never be a secret.
Activity 4
What happens to your body if you feel unsafe or in danger? Draw word bubbles on the body outline to describe what happens to your body. Alternatively, engage the Pathfinders in a brief discussion about this.
NOTES
This type of questioning aims to encourage the Pathfinders to think of their physiological reactions (increased heart rate, sweaty palms and body, muscles tense, butterflies in the stomach and thoughts/feelings).
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