| Mission Personnel
PC(USA) mission personnel are subject to the policies of Worldwide
Mission (WM) in addition to the General Assembly’s
policy. A hotline has been established to receive allegations
of past and present PC(USA) mission personnel misconduct: (502) 569-5207
(international) or toll-free in the United States, (888) 728-7228 x5207.
Allegations against current mission personnel will follow the WM
policy.
As employees of WM, all mission personnel are subject to
the Sexual Misconduct Policy as outlined in the Employee
Handbook, Section 8.04.
All WM employees, including mission personnel, are under
duty to report promptly any and all sexual misconduct allegations
or suspicions. WM staff will take all reports and allegations
of sexual or physical misconduct, including child sexual abuse,
very seriously. Such reports will be considered a priority
by staff and may result in disciplinary actions by WM, which
may include dismissal if the accusations are substantiated.
All allegations of illegal sexual misconduct will be reported
to the proper U.S. state where the accused generally resides
and the state of Kentucky.
All allegations against PC(USA) ordained officers will be
reported to the governing body of
jurisdiction, as well as the ultimate outcome. If the
allegation(s) involve abuse against children, parents or guardians
will be promptly notified and kept informed about the investigation.
All allegations will be investigated under the coordination
of Pat Hendrix, sexual misconduct ombudsperson. A response team will be formed as soon
as possible to investigate and collect all data/information
pertaining to the allegation.
Soon after allegations are made, the response team will make a determination about affected staff members
in the area. Possible determinations include but are not limited
to:
- Relieving the accused of all duties pending completion
of the investigation
- Having the accused move to another site
- Having the accused return to the United States
- Having the accuser move to another site
- Having the accuser return to the United States
Because of the unique circumstances presented by mission
service, it is important that the options exercised by the response team be flexible.
The main goal is for staff in the mission field (both accuser
and accused) to be in positions of relative safety and to
ensure that the investigation can be successfully completed. Moreover,
WM, under existing guidelines for such instances and if necessary,
will ensure that counseling is available to the accuser and the
accused. In addition, WM may require further counseling and
evaluation as it deems necessary.
Allegations against former missionaries will be referred to
the Independent Abuse Review Panel for
investigation.
“The Independent Abuse Review Panel (IARP) will receive
allegations of physical or sexual abuse. It will inquire into
allegations whether either (1) the accused was under appointment
by the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD) or not currently
under appointment; or (2) where the abused individual (adult
or child) was formerly in the mission field because of a WMD
appointment. The Independent Abuse Review Panel will also address the
actions and inactions of WMD and its staff members, as well
as recommendations for improvement to WMD processes.”
“Established in June of 2003, the IARP will exist until
December 31, 2009. It is anticipated all allegations within
the scope of the panel will have been made and determined
within this six-year period" (From IARP Charter,
2003).
Contact information for the Independent Abuse Review Panel:
IARP
P.O. Box 18241
Rochester, NY 14618
1-866-313-3694 (toll-free)
IARPanel@gmail.com
|
