Definitions: We're going to start with some helpful definitions. It's tricky to navigate the conversation around sexual misconduct. There's harassment, abuse, assault, grooming. It's hard to know what's what.
The Facts: There is much misunderstanding around sexual harassment, sexual abuse and sexual assault. So we want to educate those who maybe don’t understand what a significant issue this is, primarily for women, in our society. Since women often aren't believed, we'll let some statistics speak for them. The following stats come from various sources, but were compiled by: http://sacha.ca/resources/statistics
Resources: Rather than try and rehash the expert work that has already been done, we will simply share links where you can find more information about dealing with sexual misconduct. We are not experts, and we want to ensure we are directing you to resources we trust. So we have not included much from the church and faith world on this list. I'm sure there are some faith groups out there that do this right, but due to the lack of trust inherent in this specific story and in seeing coverups happen over and over again in the church, we want to make sure they are trusted resources.
Articles:There are sadly thousands of news articles that tell us of sexual misconduct in the church. One need not look any further than the Catholic Priest scandals or Sovereign Grace and the Southern Baptist Convention in the Protestant world. Of course, our story is dealing with these issues in the Christian & Missionary Alliance tradition. But don't think your denomination is clean in all of this. I guarantee you won't need to look far to find these stories in your midst. These kinds of abuses are an issue in our churches, and until we start taking them seriously, nothing will change. Below are links to three helpful articles that lay out the problem facing our churches. There's so many more we could have posted, so throw out suggestions if you see a good one.
Church Policies: One of the challenges with there being so many denominations is having no uniform policy adopted across every church. Some groups have a denominational head that sets the policy and handles issues. Other churches are non-denominational, and it’s up to them alone to hold themselves accountable. In either case, we know that policing yourself doesn’t work and policies must speak to a transparent and rigid process that follows legal procedure. No more sweeping it under the rug. Every church should have a rigorous, industry standard policy to deal with issues of abuse and sexual misconduct.
We aren’t advocating for any of these policies, but want to provide churches and those attending with the information to make informed decisions. Some go into greater detail and do better than others, while others fall incredibly short. Some are wildly outdated, while others are keeping up with the times and have been renewed recently. Beware of ones that claim to be biblically based. While there's nothing wrong with basing a policy like this on scripture if its done right, it will all depend on who is interpreting the scripture and how it's implemented. Biblically based does not automatically mean more trustworthy.
Have you ever looked at your churches policy on sexual misconduct and abuse? Maybe we all should. If we all knew the policy, we’d know whether it falls short or not and how to advocate for better. No one thinks it will happen to them. No one thinks it will happen in their space. How ready is your faith group to handle this when it happens? The following are policies from various larger denominations across Canada and the US. Take note of what’s lacking. What’s good. Compare it to policies in other spaces like the workplace and non-profits. If your church isn’t taking it as seriously as your workplace, maybe it’s time to speak up. That starts with parishioners being informed.
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