This Safe Church Policy and the TUC Safety Team were created to reduce the risk of abuse and harm to Young People acknowledging that Children and Youth are a gift from God and the Church has a divine mandate to provide for their safety and nurturing, any type of abuse involving Children or Youth has lasting and devastating effects on the life of the victim/survivor, the whole Church suffers with the victim/survivor and his or her family when abuse and harm occurs and Children and Youth are not only persons of care and service in the church, but they are also recipients of God’s love and grace.

Employees and volunteers assume the full burden of maintaining safe, clearly-established safeguards in all interactions with children and youth. The safeguards established in this Code of Conduct are intended to: Provide a safe environment for youth and children, Facilitate healthy interactions between adults and young people. Help young people develop safe boundaries for interaction with adults. Protect employees and volunteers interacting with young people.

Anyone who has knowledge of abuse or harm may report it to the Safe Church Reporting Form. Any Child or Youth who suspects or has knowledge of any type of abuse or harm of a Young Person is invited and encouraged to share that information with a Child/Youth worker. Once an incident has been reported, it will be reviewed by the TUC Safety Team. The team will review the report within 24 hours and will develop a plan of response. Any reported incident involving physical or sexual abuse or neglect must be reported to the relevant Japanese authorities, such as the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, immediately.