Safeguarding issues in the Girl Guiding movement

[EishetChayil]

Parents of daughters in the Girl Guides - what do you think about the new lead commissioner for the Southwell division?

"Monica Sulley" also goes by the name of "Monica Tetley", and used this name to sign Aimee Challenor's open letters (a quick Google will shed some light on why this might be a safeguarding issue). This is just the latest in a series of WTF moves from GG.

My DD isn't old enough for Guides yet, but if she was, I would be thinking twice about sending her if this is deemed suitable as leadership. Perhaps this makes me a huge transphobic TERF witch bigot, but there we go.

This is horrible, my girls are rainbows and really love it.

Is Cubs/beavers/scouts any better on safeguarding? Might have to look into moving them across sadly

@withgraceinmyheart

This is horrible, my girls are rainbows and really love it.

Is Cubs/beavers/scouts any better on safeguarding? Might have to look into moving them across sadly

They seem to do much more interesting things in Scouts. My girls much preferred it to guiding when the switch across after getting fed up of crafts in Brownies.

If someone wants to be a dominatrix, then that's nothing to do withbeing a GG leader.
Obviously, they should be keeping that side of the private and awayfrom GG... But their sex life should have no bearing ok theirsuitability to lead , surely?

What is the biggest concern about having a male in a GG pack? Sex abuse/rape of course. How is that NOT part of that male's sex life?

For all anyone knows, the top honcho in the Guides enjoys being beaten on the boobs with wet celery. The thing is, nobody knows .

Anyone who goes uploading pictures like that to broadcast their sex life across social media while in a position of responsibility in a children's organisation? That is not misjudgement. No one who does all that training and all the safeguarding type paperwork and reads all the policies to take that leadership role is that stupid.

Obliging girls to suppress the evidence of their senses and pretend this leader is female is an astonishing move by GG.

Then the next level of teaching them to ignore any feeling they have that there's something a bit wrong about the leader, because that wouldn't be 'inclusive' - that's unforgivable.

Letting girls listen to their feelings, stick up for themselves, tell their truth, be rude, not take responsibility for adults - that's the best gift we can give them and the core of safeguarding.

The new GG policy brings obfuscation and silencing where there should be plain truth.

I suppose, knowing who advised GG on their policy, that this was always the point.

Finally made it into the local news but behind a paywall.
www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/investigation-launched-into-guide-commissioners-social-medi-9227238/

"The chief executive of Girlguiding UK has said photos of one of its leaders posing with a gun and in dominatrix gear are being urgently investigated.

Monica Sulley, who describes herself as a trans activist on her social media accounts, was appointed lead commissioner for the Southwell division of Girlguiding UK earlier this year.

Her appointment followed the departure of previous commissioner Helen Watts, who left the organisation after stating girls had a right to female-only spaces.

Girlguiding Nottinghamshire County logo. (53275831)

Monica Sulley, who is transgender, found herself at the centre of a social media backlash this week after the photos emerged online.

Monica, who referred to herself as Mistress on her Instagram page, took over the role after Helen Watts, a supporting member of the Guides for more than 15 years, was expelled from the organisation.

She stated girls had a right to female-only spaces — specifically toilets, showers and accommodation — following the introduction of a transgender-inclusive policy.

Last night, Helen Watts tweeted her reaction: "In case you forgot, I was thrown out of Girlguiding, ostensibly for breaching the social media policy, when I objected to sex self ID.

"But posting inappropriate violent and sexual content on social media (that any girl could find) gets a self-identified woman promoted."

Angela Salt, chief executive of Girlguiding UK, told the Advertiser: “The safety and well-being of our members is our absolute priority. We follow rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures, have clear policies, and a volunteer code of conduct which volunteers are expected to follow to keep our members safe.

"Girlguiding is aware of concerns raised. We are looking into this as a matter of urgency and will provide the necessary support and action in line with our compliance procedures.”

The Advertiser has made attempts to contact Monica Sulley."

I have it on good authority that the journo is extremely T sympathetic. No images other than the logo and the tweet. Will be interesting to see what print edition looks like on Thursday - once the Mail etc has picked it up.

Great. According to GG guidelines for residential a, leaders can provide condoms (barrier contraception) for girls above 13. And keep this secret from parents.

On a girls only residential. I guess this is in case any transgirl with penis is there?

I am in shock. Safeguarding does not exist.

www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/programme-and-activities/lets-talk-about-sex-and-relationships-advice-for-leaders.pdf

What decent parent would allow their daughter to attend guides now? Surely this must finish that organisation?

I really hope this gets picked up by the papers. There will be no way back for them.

Erosion of boundaries for girls on all sorts of levels.
Bringing GG into disrepute I should think, sackable in my industry and any with a Social Media Policy.
Do you think the girls had to say Mistress instead of Miss, that would be creepy?

Has this been reported on any of the major papers at all? I'm amazed that it hasn't been yet.

@Janeaustenaddict

Has this been reported on any of the major papers at all? I'm amazed that it hasn't been yet.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4409650-To-ask-you-to-see-who-girl-guides-support

Yep in daily Mail. I put the link in a thread.

[quote Doubletoilandtrouble]Great. According to GG guidelines for residential a, leaders can provide condoms (barrier contraception) for girls above 13. And keep this secret from parents.

On a girls only residential. I guess this is in case any transgirl with penis is there?

I am in shock. Safeguarding does not exist.

www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/programme-and-activities/lets-talk-about-sex-and-relationships-advice-for-leaders.pdf[/quote]
Not only contraception, but the morning after pill. Even for children under 13

"If the girl is under 13, the sex she has had should be considered exploitative and therefore the information should be passed on. Ideally, parents or carers should be informed, but only by the girl or with her permission. Try to persuade the girl to inform her parents or carers."

I suppose we should be grateful that sex with a 12 year old is considered exploitative and should be reported, but are they really implying that (a) the parents should not automatically be told and (b) the child can be provided with emergency contraception without informing parents?

The whole thing is bizarre.

How about "these are children, under the age of consent, on a supervised children's activity, away from their parents. We will not permit them to have sex". Is that now unreasonable?

I feel very strongly that GG should be female only, at all levels, and that gaslighting young girls into accepting males who identify as women/girls is wrong.

I think ifmore parents understood what GG’s “inclusive” policies might mean in practice (eg teenage boys sharing a tent with their daughters without their knowledge) they would be horrified.

I haven’t pulled my DDs out, yet, but I moved my daughter from a unit containing a teen boy. I would not hesitate to remove them entirely if adult males started to get involved in our area.

@TurquoiseBaubles

That’s in direct contradiction with working together to safeguard children guidance.

Do gg leaders not cover this in their safeguarding training? How can their policy directly contradict the guidance they must comply with?

They need reported to the charity commission.

(Am busy with serious school complaints, otherwise I would, but I’ll add it to my list)

This is from the top down. Gg leadership contains activists...

I find it heartening they pulled the 'meet the team' and 'contact us' pages so fast. It indicates at least that they can now see the issue, even if they couldn't initially.

No. It shows they don't want us to see the issue.

I don't think they can see the real issue tbh. They think the issue is bad publicity...

It's literally run by TRA.

IIRC paraphilias tend to cluster (so if you have one fetish you likely have others) and the most common paraphilia is pedophilia

We are not allowed to make this observation on here.

Huh. That's... odd

There are a lot of things we can’t say on FWR (the feminism board) because it’s closely watched by a friendly bunch we call the Misogynist Monitors. They’re trans rights and men’s rights activists who make it their business to keep an eye on FWR & report and / or tweet about anything they don’t like.

Sometimes seeing what they don’t like is quite illuminating.

@Lovelyricepudding @WholeClassKeptIn

You’re both 100% spot on.

This wasn’t a negligent one off mistake that will be avoided in future. This is because of policies GG put in place to let males access children while other policies encourage them to provide sex Ed and condoms.

@EmpressaurusWitchDoesntBurn

IIRC paraphilias tend to cluster (so if you have one fetish you likely have others) and the most common paraphilia is pedophilia

We are not allowed to make this observation on here.

Huh. That's... odd

There are a lot of things we can’t say on FWR (the feminism board) because it’s closely watched by a friendly bunch we call the Misogynist Monitors. They’re trans rights and men’s rights activists who make it their business to keep an eye on FWR & report and / or tweet about anything they don’t like.

Sometimes seeing what they don’t like is quite illuminating.

If posters are especially hot on topics relating to this - like safeguarding or the law etc- or they say something especially insightful, then these monitors make it their job to read every post that person makes and find a way to report them as often as possible to get them banned.

It’s a cull of the most effective posters.

The contraception issue is one of boundaries. Teachers aren't "qualified" to offer contraception advice to individual children. Outside of teaching pre planned lessons you refer individual children on to health care professionals for personal advice about contraception. Girl guiders should be in the same position - to access a child to HCPs who have the knowledge and skills to advise children about appropriate contraception.

It's evident that the GG's understanding of both boundaries and child safeguarding is woeful.