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3/12/10
We have been alerted about negative article that
is circulating in a national religious publication in which
allegations were made about a United Nations meeting involving the
World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides.
GSUSA
is aware of this situation and has assured us that this article is a
complete misrepresentation of the facts. See below for Girl
Scouts of Western Ohio and GSUSA response.
Girl Scouts of Western Ohio
“We are very disturbed and disappointed about the article. We have
been assured by our national organization that this article is a
gross misrepresentation of the facts. Girl Scouts of the USA is
actively investigating the situation and will be preparing a Girl
Scout position statement.
The mission of the Girl Scout program is to build girls of courage,
confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. It is
not the role of Girl Scouting to take a position on issues such as
abortion, birth control, sex education, etc. Our membership is a
cross-section of America’s diversity with regard to religious
opinions and practices. We believe these matters are best
decided by girls and their families.
In some areas of the country, depending on community norms and in
response to requests, Girl Scout troops or groups may hold
discussions about human sexuality. In all instances, the topic is
discussed from an informative rather than advocacy point of view.
Participation in these discussions is totally optional, and each
girl who participates must provide written consent from her parent
or guardian.
Neither Girl Scouts of the USA nor Girl Scouts of Western Ohio has
an affiliation with Planned Parenthood.
Any further inquiries can be directed to Roni Luckenbill, Chief
Operating Officer.
3/15/10
Girl Scouts
of the USA (GSUSA)
This week, an online publication by the Catholic Family and Human
Rights Institute alleged that Girl Scouts, by participating in an
event at the United Nations earlier this month, helped to distribute
Planned Parenthood information as a part of the experience. We
had adults and GSUSA media staff on the ground at the event and know
this information to be false. We took steps to ensure that our
fact-finding was comprehensive and complete, and we are
communicating with you so that you have up-to-date information in
the event you receive inquiries surrounding this issue.
Here are some top-line facts of the event in question:
On Wednesday, March 3, GSUSA, UNICEF’s Working Group on Girls, Girls
Learn International, and The Grail jointly hosted a Young Women’s
Caucus at the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
at the United Nations. The Caucus was a group conversation conducted
to formulate the Girls’ Statement—a document that seeks to draw the
attention of world leaders to key issues affecting girls around the
world.
The Girls Only Workshop that Girl Scouts of the USA co-sponsored at
the event was supervised by adults and included no distribution of
any brochure or collateral of any kind. The only participants
were adults from GSUSA, Girls Learn International and The Grail, as
well as 30-35 teenage girls. The event involved groups of girls,
sitting in circles with adult supervision, developing language for
the document. No materials were handed out. From the perspective of
the GSUSA media staff member who attended the Caucus, there was no
involvement whatsoever by Planned Parenthood.
The Girl Scout organization does not take a position on family
planning. Our membership is a cross-section of America with
regard to opinions on religious and social issues and practices. We
believe these matters are best decided by girls and their families.
The Girl Scout organization has no affiliation with any political
organization.
3/16/10
Update on Girl Scouts and the United Nations from GSUSA
Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) was honored to
attend and participate in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women
at the United Nations, where girls were encouraged to take action on
global issues concerning women and girls. Our participation in that
conference was recently the subject of numerous internet stories and
blogs that are factually inaccurate and troubling. Here are the
facts of that meeting:
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The Girls Only Workshop was
jointly hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, UNICEF’s
Working Group on Girls, Girls Learn International
and The Grail. The meeting was only open to the
girls and participating sponsors.
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Only seven adults were in the
room at the time of the meeting, each representing
one of the sponsors of the event. No one from
Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute was in the
room to report on the event.
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30 - 35 girls from across the
world participated in this event. All teenagers.
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The girls received a copy of
the only document they were working on titled “The
Girls’ Statement”. No other documents were given to
the girls as part of this event.
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The room in question was also
used to host other events over the course of the
multi-day conference. Prior to our girls entering
the room, we did not “sanitize’ the room to ensure
that no trash or other items were left behind. We
did request that those not associated with the
sponsors leave the room prior to our session.
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The Girl Scouts of the USA was
not contacted by Catholic Family & Human Rights
Institute (C-FAM) regarding its initial story to
discuss the facts of this event. Had they applied
these basic journalistic standards, perhaps the true
details of this event would have been reported.
Our
Mission in Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage, confidence
and character, who make the world a better place. We continue to be
proud of our girls and look forward to showing the world what our
girls can do. We thank everyone for their support of Girl Scouting.
3/18/10
The National
Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry has issued the following in
support of Girl Scouts:
In the last several days NFCYM has received inquiries about a
meeting at the United Nations with Girl Scouts of the USA and
whether or not Girl Scouts of the USA distributed offensive material
to girls. Our practice, as an organization, is to investigate such
matters by going directly to the source involved. Therefore we
contacted GSUSA and they have officially offered the statement below
[statement is above as 3/16/10 update.] Please share this with those
in your diocese who have voiced any concerns with you. This is a
good reminder that at times we can be quick to render judgment
without fact, that not all information offered on the Internet is
accurate, and that our organizational integrity is at stake when we
fail to properly investigate allegations.
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OF WESTERN OHIO
