Boy Scouts' fight sex abuse

Photo: The Canadian Press

This image from video made available by the Boy Scouts of America in June 2019 shows a frame from an animated video which is part of a sex-abuse prevention program adopted by the Scouts.

The Boy Scouts of America are seeking to bolster their abuse-prevention efforts with a new awareness program featuring cartoon-style videos that will be provided to more than 1.2 million Cub Scouts across the nation.

Targeted at children from kindergarten to sixth grade, the series of six videos aims to teach children how to recognize potentially abusive behaviour and what to do if confronted by it.

The initiative is being announced Thursday. It comes as the Boy Scouts face a potentially huge wave of abuse-related lawsuits now that several states have enacted laws this year making it easier for victims of long-ago abuse to file claims. The Boy Scouts acknowledge that the litigation poses a financial threat and have not ruled out seeking bankruptcy protection.