About The First Tell Project
A survivor-led public-interest project about one specific moment: the moment a child tries to tell, and an adult decides what to do with it.
Why ‘First Tell’
Because the first telling is the one that decides almost everything that follows. If it is met well, a child is more likely to say more, more likely to be protected, and less likely to spend decades believing that the adult world does not work. If it is met badly, the child usually stops.
Enormous effort goes into teaching children to disclose. Comparatively little goes into preparing the adult who receives it. That asymmetry is the gap this project works in.
Mission
To help adults recognise and respond appropriately when a child may be trying to disclose sexual abuse; to help survivors navigate support and lawful paths to accountability; and to turn survivor experience into evidence for safer institutions.
Purpose, in six words
Hear earlier. Protect better. Support longer.
Learn from survivors. Change systems.
Values
Child safety first
Protection outranks publicity, convenience and ideology.
Survivor agency
Survivors choose what to disclose and which lawful paths to pursue. Nobody here decides for them.
Evidence over spectacle
No sensationalism, no invented certainty, no trauma as marketing.
Listen without leading
Take communication seriously while leaving investigation to people trained to do it.
Privacy by design
Collect as little as possible, and explain why anything is collected at all.
Accountability without vigilantism
Lawful reporting, rights and reform. Never public accusation.
Where things actually stand
Not yet incorporated — organisational development. Not a registered charity. No tax receipts issued.
| Area | Status |
|---|---|
| Legal structure | Not yet incorporated. Canadian nonprofit structure under professional advice. |
| Charitable status | Not a registered charity. No tax receipts issued. |
| Board and advisors | Not yet formed. Recruiting across seven capability areas. |
| Educational content | Published as a working draft. Specialist review not yet done. |
| TELL Protocol | Drafted. Not validated or certified. |
| Resource directory | Live, small, and dated. Canada, with Ontario in more detail. |
| Training | In development. Not sold. Pilot partners wanted. |
| Survivor Record, Navigator, Index, Archive | Planned. None collecting data. |
| Website | Version 1.0.0, built 2026-08-14. |
What this project is not
- Not an emergency service. Nobody monitors this site.
- Not a counselling service, a legal service or an investigative body.
- Not a place where anyone is named or accused.
- Not a forum, and not a peer support chat.
- Not an AI chatbot for people in distress, and it will not become one.
- Not a substitute for the professionals and organisations already doing this work — several of whom are in our directory.