04439
October 1, 2004

New Web site offers help to those confronted by sexual misconduct

Goal is to make churches ‘safe places’ for healing, justice

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE — A new Web site containing a variety of resources for Presbyterians dealing with sexual misconduct issues has gone “live.”

      The theme of the site — at www.pcusa.org/sexualmisconduct— is “Safe Churches.”

      “The church is meant to be a safe place,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sexual misconduct ombudsperson Pat Hendrix told the Presbyterian News Service. “That’s our goal with this site.”

      Work on the Web site began in response to recommendations from the Independent Committee of Inquiry, which investigated large-scale abuse of missionary children in the Congo between the 1940s and 1970s. Hendrix said development of the Web site was guided in part by the Congo survivors group.

      The Web site contains sexual misconduct–related definitions, awareness-raising resources, guidelines for creating sexual misconduct policies for congregations, protocols for reporting incidents of sexual misconduct, resources for rebuilding trust that has been shattered in a religious community by incidents of sexual misconduct, and PC(USA) policy statements on sexual misconduct.

      “I hope people will find the Web site informative,” Hendrix said, “so people can understand more fully what kinds of abuse exist and can understand what happened to them.”

      Beyond understanding, however, Hendrix wants the new Web site to offer healing. “There are sample liturgies for healing services,” she said, “and resources for people to identify the issues involved in circumstances of sexual misconduct and learn how to talk about them.”

      It’s taken about a year to develop the Web site, Hendrix said. “There’s not much new material on the site, but until now all of these resources were in different programmatic areas — some in child advocacy, some in the Office of the General Assembly, some in Women’s Ministries. We’ve pulled them all together in one place.”

      Congregations need to be better prepared to deal with sexual misconduct, Hendrix said. “It’s good to have policies and procedures in place before cases or problems arise. And the site includes instructions on steps to take when abuse occurs, because there are different sets of rules depending on the circumstances and the position the perpetrator holds in the church.”

      Hendrix believes the new Web site will demonstrate the church’s serious commitment to addressing sexual misconduct. “We know the problem’s out there,” she said. “We hope this gives people who need this site a place to start on their journey to justice and healing.”

      For more information, contact Pat Hendrix at Phendrix@ctr.pcusa.org.