Gays scout leaders OK’d in U.S., but old news in Canada

In a policy change that was years in the making, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) last week announced it would no longer bar openly gay adults from becoming scout leaders.

Momentous as that is for scouting in the United States, it might surprise you that Scouts Canada has accepted gays and lesbians as troop leaders for almost two decades. The policy was embraced with no fanfare and apparently little controversy, perhaps a reflection of how Canada copes with social change compared with its American neighbour.

“It was the next step that they had to logically take after their decision last year to enable gay youth members to join the organization as well,” John Petitti, Scouts Canada executive director of marketing and communications, said of the BSA’s decision.

BSA president Robert Gates, the former U.S. defence secretary, took a bold approach in shepherding through the change, “in order to continue to sustain the organization’s relevance and growth within today’s society,” Petitti told Yahoo Canada.

It’s not clear yet what impact the change will have on American scouting. The BSA reported it had just over 2.6 million members in 2013, the latest year for which statistics are available. That’s down almost six per cent from 2012. The number of scout leaders has also declined to just over a million, down 3.7 per cent, while the total number of scouting units has dropped about the same percentage, to roughly 110,000.

Religious groups that sponsor many scout troops, especially the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), are uneasy with the BSA’s policy direction.

The policy change on gay leaders includes a compromise that allows church-affiliated troops to continue to recruit scout leaders based on their beliefs, which includes barring openly gay adults.

The compromise allows local parents and members to tailor their choices to best meet the needs of their families, the BSA said, while respecting the right of religious chartered scouting organizations to choose leaders whose beliefs are consistent with their own.

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“By focusing on the goals that unite us, we are able to accomplish incredible things for young people and the communities we serve,” the BSA statement said.

Trying to accommodate the objections of religiously affiliated troops was the only reason for delaying the policy change, Petitti observed.

“These are strong historic partnerships that have always represented a significant share of BSA membership,” he said. “There’s no question that these partnerships behoove them to be sensitive to partners’ needs and to be flexible to them where they can.”

Canadian diversity policy formalized in 2001

Contrast that with the Canadian experience; Scouts Canada formally enshrined its diversity policy, which includes sexual orientation of both youth members and leaders, in 2001.

“That being said, we’ve always taken an open and inclusive approach to membership, and that was long before 2001,” Petitti said in an interview. “We formalized social justice and diversity policy in 2001 and it really was a reflection of our longstanding tradition of inclusiveness and diversity.

“The policy wasn’t introduced to drive change, but more so to acknowledge our openness. Formalizing it helps ensure that we can remove as many barriers as possible to participation in scouting.”

Petitti said the formation of a gay and lesbian scout troop in 2000 may have pushed Scouts Canada to formally entrench its policy. The Toronto troop disbanded a few years later. Some said it was set up to test Scouts Canada’s commitment to diversity. Petitti said it’s more likely the kids in the troop simply aged out of scouting and were not replaced.

There’s been no push-back, he said, even though there is no U.S.-style exemption for troops with religious sponsorship, such as Latter-Day Saints troops. But he pointed out they’re unlikely to draw openly gay leaders anyway.

“Keep in mind the leaders of LDS troops are LDS members,” said Petitti.

Scouts Canada’s inclusiveness policy extends to transgender members. Petitti says the organization respects their choices in clothing and forms of address (he, she). In outings, they can use the sleeping facilities of the gender they identify with, he said.

Despite Canadian scouting’s longer experience, the BSA did not seek Scouts Canada’s advice on how to introduce the new policy, Petitti said.

“It’s not something that was discussed between the two organizations,” he said. “We’re certainly not distant, if you would, and we certainly would support the changes they’re making in policy. But scouting programs throughout the world each operate independently.”

Some, such as United Kingdom Scouting, also accept openly gay youth and adult leaders, but conservative countries are less likely to embrace such change.

Canadian scout troops co-ed for more than 20 years

Canadian scouting has also led in allowing mixed boy and girl troops since 1992, he added. The BSA is not co-ed at the lower levels but after age 16, girls are allowed to join Rovers, said Petitti.

The U.S. has a separate Girl Scouts of America (GSA). The organization’s extensive policy statement on diversity does not mention sexual orientation.

In response to an inquiry from Yahoo Canada about the impact of the BSA policy change, a GSA spokesperson emailed this statement: “The foundation of diversity that Juliette Gordon Low established in 1912 runs throughout Girl Scouting to this day. We are proud of our own inclusive history and commends all youth-serving organizations that embrace diversity and acceptance.”

In Canada, the Girl Guides have had “for a very long time an anti-discrimination policy,” Girl Guides Canada CEO Deborah Del Duca said in a brief comment. “We have a very comprehensive inclusion statement.”

The statement says guiding “recognizes and values the richness of human diversity in its many forms, and therefore strives to ensure environments where girls and women from all walks of life, identities, and lived experiences feel a sense of belonging and can participate fully.

“This commitment to inclusion means GGC’s culture, programming, and practices encourage self-awareness and awareness of others; room for difference; and environments where girls and women feel safe, respected, supported, and inspired to reach their potential.”

Scouts Canada came under fire a few years ago for its handling of sex-abuse allegations against leaders in decades past, most dating before 1992. Petitti said there’s no connection between that scandal and its policy to accept openly gay leaders and scouts.

All potential volunteers, regardless of sexual orientation, undergo a two-stage police records check, including what’s called a “vulnerable sector” check that discloses otherwise sealed case files related to sex-abuse cases.

Scout leaders go through strict screening process

Volunteers also go through a detailed screening by trained interviewers to see if they are suited to working with youth, must provide five references and commit to a training program on child and youth safety, Petitti said.

Scouts Canada has a turnover rate among volunteers of between 18 and 20 per cent a year, he said. Many are parents who become involved when their children join Cubs and Scouts and drift away when their kids are done.

Inclusiveness, an active effort to reach out to new Canadian and revamped programs have helped reverse scouting’s steady decline in Canada, Petitti said.

Its total youth membership for 2013-14 numbered almost 77,000, with more than 21,000 volunteers, according to its most recent annual report. Numbers have grown consistently since 2009, and it’s the first time that’s happened since the mid-1970s, he said.

“Will we ever be where we were in the 1960s where we had 350,000 members? No, I don’t think so,” said Petitti. “But I do think we’ll be able to see constant, steady growth of the organization.”