“He shared a testimony about my v*gina” |MANAGING SAFEGUARDING RISK AT CHRISTIAN TEEN CAMP SPACES

Children need spaces where their confidentiality and privacy is treated with the upmost respect.

In spaces where children exist as ‘obedient little people’ to be morphed in to obedient young adults. Children are often socialised to ignore violations of their privacy, their boundaries and their rights to be respected. The oversharing of child and youth trauma at Christian teen camp spaces, within family systems and throughout poorly regulated youth organisations is a safeguarding risk that needs addressing. Oversharing culture exposes a minor’s vulnerabilities in the presence of potential predators.

My name is Mckenzie. Muralist painter, writer and mother who is passionate about protecting children.

I am here to tell my story.

I grew up to experience the beauty and spiritual outpour of testimony time.

However, I also grew up accepting that my most embrassing moments and private stories were always going to make it into the public sphere.

At 12 years old, I experienced my first injury to my ‘areas’. I fell hard on to my bottom and experienced a ‘coochie swelling’ :) which led to hospitalisation.

This injury then became a church announcement which led to the entire church visiting me at my bedside on the children’s ward. The church announcement did not contain details of my initimate injury but the news of my v*g was shared. As a pre-teen girl, I was mortified by every single visit but there wasn’t much that I could do. We had a church culture of ‘family’ which meant a church auntie was given the job of helping me wash whilst I was struggling with my mobility in hospital. Again, I was mortified as a pre-teen by the exposing of my body. I had voiced that I was uncomfortable but reassured that there was no judgement. The stripping down naked and being washed by someone I actually do not know very well still haunts me to this day.

but the story hasn’t began yet.

I was an active singer, artist and poet at my christian teen camps and conferences. During my absence from one of the teen camps, a close friend told a testimony about me. They explained that ‘I fell and a chair leg went up my v*gina’. I heard about the detailed testimony later that week. I was 13 and I cried in such a way that I never want to cry that way again. The story of my injury had been told incorrectly and wrong information had been shared (There was no chair leg in my v*gina lol ). Just swelling from a fall on to my bottom. Nonetheless, all of my friends and a room full of teen boys, grown men and women were coming to tell me what they had heard and apologising that this was made public. The person sharing the testimony was old enough to know better and close enough to me to know how this would affect me in such a giant room full of people.

I do believe I was being actively humiliated during this time. I was developing beautifully as young lady and my giftedness was apparent as a certified ‘golden child’. This is just one of my many humiliation experiences during my process of coming in to myself as a young girl.

This event affected my self esteem but I still pushed through to be part of many events in that same space.

Every event exposed new stories from new people.

People had testimonies of rape by a father.

Testimonies of murder in the family.

Hundreds of testimonies of sexual abuse.

Testimonies that exposed abusers that were in the room.

Testimonies told about other people who aren’t in the room.

and I can’t help but ignore the safeguarding risk posed when under 18s are exposing their raw vulnerabilities in rooms where predators hide.

Children are humiliated often in these spaces and their vulnerabilities are exposed in rooms where predators hide.

Women are humiliated often in these spaces and their vulnerabilities are exposed in rooms where predators hide.

It is normalised to use the church podium as a place to humiliate and subjugate women, pastor’s wives, children and people who are going against the grain.

The little jokes during a sermon.

The little stories about a child.

These seem harmless but they are filled with a normalised harm.

The normalisation of raw vulnerability without the professional structures in place to pick up the pieces when a ‘safe space’ becomes a gossip space. Spaces that dig up child trauma without the professional resource to protect the story teller aren’t safe at all.

So what do we do now?

Do we rob people of the opportunity to outpour in a vulnerable way for expression of their faith and progress? No.

but we educate instead.

Education begins in teaching children how to respect themselves, how to address disrespect and how to read a room for safety. Adults must be educated on child privacy, especially in the age of digital information. Children are no longer props to be gossiped about but rather, humans who are owed respect. We teach adults how to respect small children. Especially, in our ethnic communities.

Faith institutions have to be forced to adhere to higher safeguarding restrictions, stricter rules and professional therapy resources for minors. As of 2026, minors are not safe within these spaces.

My child is 3 and he is currently working through an activity kit about body safety, boundaries, consent and vocalisation.

The kit is personalised and teaches him about his body, his privacy and the importance of his voice.

This kit is available to buy- personalised for your child. Link here-

Boy children need to be educated on the harm that they can perpetuate unknowingly and the harm that can be done against them.

I am looking for an expert in safeguarding or an expert in consent education to become a sponsor for this kit & to collaborate on its distribution. Please do get in touch.

Spaces that do not protect and prioritise children are anti-child spaces.

Anti-child spaces are damaging for everyone. They demand that children shrink themselves, they demand that mothers disappear in to the background carrying impossible loads of labour, they demand that the child is seen and not heard. They demand that women shrink themselves.

They demand that men are conditioned to prioritise their comfort, ego and platforming over children’s safety and well-being.

but here at my big imagination, I sell empowerment kits and bedroom decor for children that is designed to uplift each and every child.

Here we are child first and very matriarchal.

Sign up to follow the mybigimagination newsletter and catch all of my personal blogs. I am completing a dissertation on safeguarding structures for informal faith groups in the UK. Supporting my online shop or requesting a mural painting will help me raise my 5K in pending tuition fees.

Follow along.

My stories are endless and you will be hearing them all here.

I’ve stopped and started projects for years (busy mothering and getting myself situated)…

but I can tell that this time, I am here to stay.