Handling Sexual Abuse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Jennifer Roach Lees Introduction

• Jennifer Roach Lees holds a Master of Divinity and a Master's in Counseling Psychology.
• Known for research on how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints handles sexual abuse cases.
• Speaker at the FAIR conference on this topic and on dynamics of bishops interviewing teenagers alone.
• Licensed Mental Health Therapist in Utah.

Introduction to the Topic

• Discussing how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints handles issues arising from sexual abuse.
• It's a difficult topic due to its emotionally charged nature.
• Victims deserve compassion and support.
• The aim is to move beyond the emotional aspects and critically examine media portrayals and factual accuracy.

Goal of the Discussion

• Address how these issues are presented in the media.
• Critically assess the information presented.
• Examine the facts reported in major articles: Is the church a hotbed of sexual abuse? Does it protect abusers? Is the church deceitful to protect its reputation?
• Compare the Church's practices with other similar groups.
• Highlight unique protections offered by the Church.
• The ideal is zero abuse cases.

Personal Background

• Grew up outside the Church and joined about five years ago.
• Survivor of sexual abuse from a pastor in a previous church.
• Spent much of life treating and researching abuse.
• Inquired about abuse handling in the Church before joining.
• Interested in how organizations handle abuse as a mental health therapist.
• Conducted research to identify systems and best practices to deter abuse.

Observations on Church Practices

• Impressed by the effective systems and practices in the Church to protect children.
• Views practices differently as an outsider.
• Confused by news reports characterizing the Church as protecting itself from lawsuits by keeping abuse secret.
• News stories on this topic often use emotional language to lead to a specific conclusion.

Critical Thinking and Media Consumption

• Two key points:
  • Using critical thinking when reading news stories criticizing the Church.
  • Providing factual corrections to common misrepresentations.
• Most news reporters are not experts in the specific fields they cover.
• Their job involves gathering facts, creating a story, and moving on quickly.
• Newspapers and media outlets need to sell newspapers and get clicks which requires emotional language.
• The Church is complex and not easily understood by outsiders.

Principle 1: Understanding Church Structure

• When reading negative news, identify language indicating a lack of understanding of Church structure.
  • Example: An Associated Press article about abuse in the Southwestern United States.
  • The article refers to an abuser as an "ordained priest."
  • This incorrectly equates him to a Catholic priest.
  • The abuser only held the Aaronic priesthood from youth, never endowed, never received the Melchizedek priesthood.
  • The article fails to distinguish between someone holding the Aaronic priesthood as a youth and a leader of a congregation.
• This demonstrates a lack of understanding, making the conclusions less reliable.

Principle 2: Avoid Generalizing from Extreme Cases

• News articles tend to highlight individuals with strong opinions and present them as representative of the entire group, leadership, or doctrine.
• It is incorrect to assume that an extreme opinion held by a member reflects the views of the entire group.
• Step back and look for these manipulations.
• It's difficult to do when the issue is emotionally charged.

Claims and Reality

• The overarching claim is that the Church is a hotbed of abuse and protects abusers at all costs.
• This claim is false.
• Unique practices in the Church provide child protection.
• Discussion of unique practices in the Church related to child protection, which might be more apparent to someone who converted to the church.

Unique Protections in the Church

• Geographical Organization and Member Number System:
  • Established geographical boundaries create awareness of who attends and leads.
  • The member number system allows confidential annotations regarding an individual's safety around children, following them across congregations.
  • This system is encouraged by advocates for safer church practices but rarely implemented elsewhere.
  • If someone commits a crime against children, their record follows them even if they move to another country.
• Parental Participation and Two-Deep Leadership System:
  • Since 2018, the Church has mandated a two-deep leadership model.
  • Children should not be alone with a single adult during church activities.
  • At least two adults must be present in all activities involving youth or children.
  • Parents are encouraged to attend youth interviews with the bishop, or remain close by if the youth prefers to speak alone.
• System of Public Callings and Sustainings:
  • The calling system makes access to young people more difficult for potential abusers.
  • Individuals are asked to serve only after consideration by male and female leaders.
  • New callings are presented for a public sustaining vote, allowing congregants to object if they have concerns.
• Windows and Doors of Sunday School and Primary Classrooms:
  • Windows are standard on doors where children are taught, or doors are left open.
  • This allows parents to easily monitor their children and classroom activities.
  • Older chapels are being retrofitted.
• Unpaid Bishops Leading Congregations:
  • Bishops are long-time members of their congregations prior to serving.
  • Since they are unpaid, there is no financial incentive to protect their position.
  • Their actions are subject to review by successors and fellow leaders.
• Prioritizing Victims’ Safety:
  • The Church has prioritized a dedicated helpline for three decades to ensure high-quality care by connecting lay leaders with experts.
  • These experts focus on safety first, notifying authorities immediately if a child is in danger, regardless of mandatory reporting laws.
  • The helpline is staffed by diligent and compassionate experts committed to protecting kids.
• Direct Female Supervision:
  • Multiple women in formal leadership positions work with Latter-day Saint girls and young women throughout their adolescence.
  • This ensures additional female mentorship at every stage of life for those statistically more vulnerable to abuse.
• The Safeguard of Confession:
  • Mandatory reporting is not the only solution to deter abuse.
  • Some studies suggest that mandatory reporting may lead to fewer confirmed reports of child maltreatment.
  • Open confession may provide additional protection by encouraging bad actors to turn themselves in or helping to catch and deter concerning behaviors.
• Four Decades of Repeated Leadership Training:
  • The Church has been educating members directly about deterring abuse since 1985.
  • Early training materials emphasized trusting victims, taking their words seriously, and compassionately connecting them with professional help.
  • The Church Handbook for Leaders and Members has stated for at least two decades that the first responsibility is to help those who have been abused and to protect those who may be vulnerable to future abuse.
• Membership-Wide Training:
  • A mandatory online training course was launched in 2019 for all adults who interact with children and youth in their church assignments.
  • The topic of abuse has been repeatedly addressed in the Church's general conference.

Receptiveness to Emerging Practices

• The Church has been receptive to emerging practices.
• These practices have acted as a strong deterrent over decades.

Research on Boy Scouts of America

• Analysis found measurably lower rates of abuse in Boy Scout troops associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Detailed records of abuse have been kept by the Boy Scouts of America for over 85 years, with thousands of records publicly available.
• The Los Angeles Times maintains a database of these case files.
• The files include each abuser's demographic information, crimes, discovery, and handling.
• They also list the abuser's religious affiliation.
• Between 30-40% of troops were affiliated with the Church.
• The actual percentage of abusers affiliated with the Church is 5%.
• This is 75% less abuse than expected based on the numbers alone.

Conclusion

• The Church operates in a way that reduces abuse.
• These practices should be used widely by other churches.
• Spread awareness of practices and systematic safeguards.
• These protect the dignity and safety of all of God's children.

Q&A Section

• Question: What safeguards are other churches putting in place?
  • Answer: Safeguards vary widely across churches. Background checks are common but only effective if there is a prior conviction, which is rare in abuse cases (approximately 3%).
  • Clean background checks do not guarantee safety.
  • Other churches often lack robust calling systems, making it easier to volunteer with children.
• Question: What should you do if you recognize that abuse has been going on?
  • Answer: Adults should be attentive and brave enough to ask follow-up questions when children make odd comments.
  • Notify child protective services and the police, as child abuse is a crime.
• Question: When a member of the community confesses a sexual abuse on their own kids, are bishops clearly instructed only to keep the confessions in their office and treat the issue spiritually, or also to encourage the members to turn themselves in and make sure to treat the issue legally since sexual abuse is a crime condemned by the law of the land?
  • Answer: The answer varies depending on the area's laws. In some states, bishops have 24 hours to call legal authorities. The Church's priority is the protection of the child.
• Question: Should the bishop's office door have a window under current policies or not?
  • Answer: This is not the current policy, as it conflicts with adults' privacy needs. Ideally, all doors in the chapel would have windows, but this is impractical.
• Question: What happened to your abuser?
  • Answer: Outside of our Church, abusers often keep their jobs. The speaker's abuser kept his job and is still a pastor. Because we have non paid clergy, in other churches that's their full-time profession.
• Question: What should you bring up or not bring up or how should you communicate with them? Given that abuse has happened with a young woman in your group or a young man and you're now dealing with them.
  • Answer: Approach it like providing first aid. Offer comfort, knowledge that Heavenly Father knows about them, and spiritual encouragement. Provide spiritual and emotional first aid.