Program for young children: Be Safe! can help prevent sexual abuse of children

Be Safe! (formerly called the c.a.r.e. kit) is a personal safety program for children aged 5–9, with a focus on preventing child sexual abuse.

Child sexual abuse is one of the more difficult issues an educator will face. For 30 years, the Canadian Red Cross has been working with schools and communities to spread the sexual abuse prevention message and promote healthy, safe relationships. Our research found few comprehensive programs available across Canada that deal specifically with preventing child sexual abuse. When surveyed, over 90% of teachers, parents, and counselors felt Be Safe! was effective in increasing students’ personal safety.

Watch the Be Safe! teaser

Through positive, non-threatening, simple key messages and child-friendly learning resources, Be Safe! introduces young children to the concepts of:

children’s rights
safe and supportive friendships
adults’ responsibility to protect children from harm
privacy and safe and unsafe touching

simple and effective Personal Safety Rules: Say “NO!” GO! Get away. TELL! Tell someone you trust. Keep on telling until someone helps you.

Be Safe! provides easy-to-use, effective resources

Designed to be delivered in schools and other learning environments, Be Safe! includes:

simple, detailed guidelines for educators
colourful, age-appropriate learning resources for children
information for parents
templates and tools to help schools communicate with parents and assist administrators to implement Be Safe!

Using Be Safe! in my school

To use Be Safe!, your school must purchase the Be Safe! kit.

The Canadian Red Cross album “BeSafe!/Prudence!” by Charlotte Diamond is now available on iTunes and Spotify for downloading the songs and lyrics.

To download from iTunes:
https://music.apple.com/ca/album/be-safe-prudence/1558209278

To download from Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/2moMytvyAsyNSbbWFEhGQh?si=olGDD84KQqaNOu0sY1rDAw

Online training for educators is included with the kit and is an essential part of the Be Safe! program.

To familiarize school administrators with the Be Safe ! program, a short, free online presentation called Be Safe! Overview for Administrators is available