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WORLD April 30, 1999 VNN3751 See Related VNN Stories ISKCON Pledges One Million Dollars To Child Protection BY ANUTTAMA DASA USA, Apr 30 (VNN) — Today I was notified by the GBC Chairman, Bir Krishna Goswami, that the GBC has voted in favor of the resolution pledging $250,000 per year for three (3) years to fund additional child protection and child abuse response efforts. This most recent $750,000 will come from projected donations from the NA BBT to international projects, beginning next year, 2000. This represents 80% of expected NA BBT proceeds. Below is a media release that is currently being distributed to media outlets in the United States. To our knowledge the expected Associated Press story has not been issued yet, although it may still appear any day. This press release may stimulate some media coverage, so please be prepared to respond in your local areas. Please refer to earlier position statements and media response materials that were emailed to you previously. As pointed out in the release, we can not change the history that some of our children suffered abuse in the past. Today's decision demonstrates that our society is determined to increase our efforts and do whatever we can to aid those who suffered, and to continue to assure the safety of our children. It is also important that we educate our devotees and congregations of this pro-active step. Individual regional and temple leaders and communications personnel should discuss what is the best way to do that in your local areas. Although it is painful to talk about the past abuse, it is important that we educate people as to our efforts to help victims and address the past, as well as the programs that are in place to protect our children today. (Again, see previous materials for details.) We may still have to endure negative media coverage from the past abuse. However, it is important that we do inform concerned parties about our proactive steps, which are substantial. Most importantly, we are trying to do as much as we can, and committing very significant resources, to help the youth who have suffered. Inquiries for help, or for more specific information on programs in place to help the youth, should be directed to Dhira Govinda, OCP Director. He is on com, or can be reached at (904) 418-0882. Your servant, Anuttama Dasa ISKCON Communications MEDIA RELEASE KRISHNAS PLEDGE ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO CHILD PROTECTION Date:April 29, 1999 Phone: (301) 299-9707 Contact:Anuttama Dasa Washington, D.C. -The Governing Body Commission (GBC) of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known as the Hare Krishna movement, today announced it has pledged an additional $750,000 for ISKCON's Office of Child Protection (OCP). This pledge brings the total the Krishnas plan to spend in response to past abuse to over one million dollars. By a majority vote made public today, the GBC voluntarily pledged to provide $250,000 per year for the next three years for child protection, to be administered by the religious group's professionally staffed OPC. A minimum of $500,000 will be used to directly assist victims of abuse. The balance of the $750,000 will be used for education and training to protect children and to support the OCP's work in investigating and adjudicating alleged past abuse. Another quarter million dollars was allocated previously to the OCP. The Governing Body Commission pledged the money from donations of the North American division of the Krishna's independent publishing house, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT). The GBC pledged these funds recognizing that the individual North American temple communities do not have sufficient resources to financially support the desired increases in the child protection programs. "The funds pledged today represent the bulk of the proceeds from our tradition's most sacred activity-the publishing of our religious texts," said Anuttama Dasa, ISKCON spokesperson. "Historically, these funds have been donated to build temples and facilities for pilgrims at holy sites in India. Today's decision confirms that our leadership wants to do whatever is possible to help our families, and heal our young people." The Krishnas attracted international media attention when ISKCON's own academic journal published two lengthy articles by scholars investigating past abuse of Krishna children in the group's boarding schools in the 1970's and 1980's. The New York Times called the publishing of the articles "an unusually candid expose" by a religious group. Independent child abuse experts have acknowledged the Krishna's Office of Child Protection's pro-active efforts. In addition to providing assistance to abuse victims, and education to prevent abuse, the OCP actively investigates allegations of past abuse. The OCP oversees an independent judicial system that determines restrictions and punishments for alleged past abusers who may have escaped prosecution from local and state law enforcement agencies. Actions against past abusers can include mandatory payment of reparations to victims, mandatory professional counseling, and banishment for life from Krishna temples. In a related announcement, the Mayapur Foundation, a new independent ISKCON-affiliated Trust that raises funds for charitable and religious purposes in India, today announced a new grant writing initiative dedicated to raising funds in North America for Krishna youth who were victims of abuse. "The protection of children is an essential tenet of the Hare Krishna, or Vaishnava Hindu tradition," said Anuttama. "Many children in modern society have suffered from abuse. It has infected churches, schools, governments, and families. Unfortunately, ISKCON has not been free from that plague. We can't change the history of suffering that some of our children underwent. But, we must continue to do everything we can to help the healing process," he said. See Related VNN Stories | Comment on this Story | Contact VNN regarding this Story
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