Conference Explores Thicket of Issues Surrounding Sexual Misconduct
Episcopal News Service. November 23, 1993 [93216]
David Skidmore
If sexual misconduct is to be eliminated from the church then church members must first acknowledge its presence, understand its pathology and employ measures to prevent it.
At the October 12-13 sexual misconduct conference in Chicago sponsored by the Church Insurance Company (CIC), this three-point approach was emphasized by panelists -- the Rev. David Rider, general manager of CIC's Medical Trust and director of clergy wellness for CPI, and the Rev. Christine Whittaker, assistant rector at St. John's, Georgetown, DC, and teacher of canon law at Virginia Theological Seminary. In their overview, they described the ethical issues involved in sexual misconduct, clinical perspectives on child sex abuse and ecclesiastical models for preventing and intervening in sexual misconduct incidents.
Sexual misconduct, they said, encompasses three behaviors. Sexual abuse concerns sexual involvement with a minor or legally incompetent person. Harassment involves unwelcome sexual behavior in an employment, mentor or peer relationship, manifested in sexually oriented humor and language; comments about sexual behavior or preference, dress, and physical appearance; unwelcome physical contact; and persistent pleas for dates. Sexual exploitation, a sexualized relationship between a spiritual leader or advisor and a person with whom they have a pastoral relationship regardless whether the individual consents to the sexual involvement, according to Rider.
Noting the strong link between sexuality and spirituality throughout the church's history, Whittaker stressed the importance of an ethical framework for sexual relationships in a church or professional setting. "The ethical issue is how we use our sexuality and whether it is done in a holy way," Whitaker said.
An ethical expression, she said, is one based on mutuality and generativity, a term employed by theologian Dr. Timothy Sedgwick for a relationship "that gives live rather than turning inward on itself." If the focus is not outward and mutual, then the potential for misuse of authority and sexual misconduct arises.
Although it is a required course in law schools, said Whittaker, professional ethics has been generally ignored in seminary curriculums and literature dealing with church leadership. As a result, clergy and lay leaders are unaware of the ethical dimension of sexuality in a professional setting, frequently misreading it as related to another issue like sexism or sexual orientation.
Romantic -- and completely ethical -- relationships between a priest and a parishioner are possible, she said, if certain guidelines are followed:
- The priest can't maintain a dual relationship with his or her parishioner, as both pastor and suitor
- The relationship should be disclosed to parish leaders at its inception
- The cleric should invite feedback from colleagues on the relationship
- The romance can't grow out of a counseling relationship
- The parishioner has not been abused as a child
- The recognition of the potential for jealousy among church members towards the cleric and parishioner
- Church member's pressure for the parties to marry
- Acknowledgement that termination of the relationship could be painful.
Perhaps the most damaging, and at least in the public eye most unforgivable form of sexual misconduct is child sexual abuse. It is not confined to any one setting; it is as much a threat in the church sphere as it is in other youth activities, such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Big Brothers and Big Sisters. While these organizations have acted aggressively to limit incidents through training programs, employment screening and close monitoring of workers, the church has lagged in developing and implementing preventative measures, according to Rider.
While diocesan misconduct manuals spend considerable space on response to abuse, harassment and exploitation involving adults, far less attention is paid to child sexual abuse, said Rider. On the average his office deals with one child sexual abuse case a month. At the end of last year, there were 18 open cases on file, he said, with the offenders split equally between lay and ordained persons. This distribution counters a misperception that clergy are the primary offenders in such cases. Because the incidents happen on church grounds or during church-sponsored activities, people assume clergy are involved, he said, but out of 15,000 Episcopal clergy, only 12 have been convicted of child sexual abuse.
While sexual exploitation claims occur most frequently -- accounting for 60 percent of the CIC's sexual misconduct claims traffic -- child sexual abuse claims on average prove to be most expensive.
In actuality, said Rider, the only common demographic trait among offenders is that 90 percent are male. Age and marital status are not reliable indicators. Research shows that offenders committed their first acts of child sexual abuse before they reached age 19, a crucial consideration for churches recruiting camp directors and counselors.
It is possible, however, to develop a profile of offenders according to psychological and sociological factors. For instance, for 5 percent of the general population children are a source of sexual arousal, and in 80 percent of extra-familial cases -- those not involving blood relatives -- the offender knows the victims.
Polygraph tests have shown that only 35 to 40 percent of offenders were victims of child sexual abuse themselves, a figure that contradicts earlier theories that up to 80 percent of offenders were themselves victims. As for offenders' rehabilitation potential, only five percent voluntarily seek psychological assistance, he pointed out, and their self-identification may be more a result of the threat of prosecution than remorse.
Why are churches are so susceptible to child sexual abuse? Rider identified six factors: accessibility to children; denial that the institution could harbor or be exploited by offenders; reluctance to prosecute; fewer external barriers than other youth service organizations; the lack of preventative strategies such as employee background checks and close monitoring of volunteers and employees; and the unquestioning trust accorded clergy and others who engage in church work.
As for prevention strategies, Rider listed the warranty conditions under CIC's new sexual misconduct coverage, which mandates four hours of training in child sexual abuse issues, as well as procedures used by other youth service organizations. These include conducting child protection audits which look for physical and psychological hazards posed by a church's youth work policy, requiring new volunteers to wait six months before gaining access to or supervision of children, prohibition on solo leadership of youth activities, a ban on any overnight activities without prior consent of the vestry, and barring access to children by known child molesters.
Several of these procedures are employed by the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) which has put in place one of the more aggressive policies in the wake of several major lawsuits involving misconduct by scout leaders. A key BSA provision, said Rider, is a requirement that two adults be present at every event enabling closer surveillance of leaders' performance but also serves as a buffer against false accusations.
Several participants at the conference questioned the practicality, and the propriety, of the church digging into the private lives of its volunteers. That poses the threat of a backlash, both in financial support and ministry involvement, they said, if members perceive their clergy and vestry are questioning their integrity.
That's why education is so important, responded Rider. If church leaders are able to discuss the realities of child sexual abuse and the risks of ministering to youth, he said, then the members are apt to be "much more empathetic and want to do more."
It comes down to balancing the protection needs of church members with their privacy needs, he said, as well as correcting long-standing misconceptions about ministry. "Youth ministry, like any kind of ministry, is a privilege, not an entitlement."