Suggestions Regarding Reporting Abuse of MK's To Mission Organizations/Denomination

Appropriate Response of Denominations
and Mission Organizations to Allegations of Abuse

1. All initial internal investigations of abuse allegations should be conducted by impartial third parties, i.e., outside the immediate chain of command of all the organizations involved in the school and/or mission setting.

2. In the case of an allegation of abuse of minors, parents must be notified as soon as any allegation is made.

3. All such allegations also should be reported as criminal matters -- to be investigated under the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where they arose. When the abuse occurred outside of the country in which the abuser and/or the abused are from, the abuse and abuser should be reported to the appropriate authorities in the state and or province where the organization is incorporated.

The abuse and the abuser should also be reported to the authorities in the state or province where the perpetrator may currently reside.

4. An organization's response to past abuse is prima facie inadequate if it relies only on spontaneous reporting by survivors of childhood abuse. All organizations should actively reach out to the complete universe of potential abuse survivors, offer them the opportunity to fully tell their story to an impartial, professionally-trained third party, and to participate in an independent investigative process.

5. An organization's response is prima facie inadequate if it relies (wholly or in part) on internal resources, including its own staff, or on other organizations or personnel who may have even an appearance of a conflict of interest with respect to the referring organization.

All organizations receiving allegations of abuse should avail themselves of a completely independent investigative process - not a process that draws on personnel or resources from within the organization itself.

6. When a group of MK's / former Mk's jointly report abuse, the mission agency's responsibility is to request that an Independent Commission of Inquiry (ICI) investigate all of the allegations of each member of the group and not deal with each member of the group through an individual investigation.

7. The investigative process should include a victim's advocate who has been vetted by the individual survivor or group of survivors involved. The victim's advocate will, at all times, be kept in the information loop of how the investigation is proceeding and will keep the survivors and their families apprised of all significant developments. If the investigative process has stalled for whatever reason, the victim's advocate will explain the reasons to the survivors.

8. All verified abuse allegations should result in the responsible organization making full recompense to the survivors, to include payment for counseling (retroactive if necessary) for the individual, as well as his/her family, when deemed appropriate by the independent investigative body.

9. Each such organization should recognize (through policy, procedure, training, supervision, and auditing) the need to remain fully vigilant regarding the ongoing potential for abuse in its ranks.

10. Each such organization should have an internal disciplinary process that deals impartially with all abuse allegations. Upon a finding - either administrative or legal - of abusive conduct by an employee, the employing organization should immediately withdraw any professional credentials held by that person and terminate the person's employment.

Suggestions for Reporting Abuse to Mission Agencies and Denominations.
 

1. Before you make a report:

a) Strengthen yourself, your own "power base." We suggest you find a certified, professional therapist, one who has experience dealing with child abuse. Ideally, one who has experience with clergy abuse and family systems. (See the two articles on our website on suggestions for selecting a good therapist.) Start doing your therapy work. There is no time-line on anything we are suggesting, and it usually takes time to heal before you are able to address the mission/church.

Start networking to locate other potential victims. Where one child has been abused, often there are other victims. The challenge is to find those other victims and begin sharing your stories. Work at building trust with each other. Issues of confidentiality are key at building trust.

b) Form a survivors support group. If you can establish a network, try to move it to the next stage of becoming a group. With today's modern technology of e-mail, phones and faxes, you can create a virtual on-line support group that spans the globe.

c) Ideally, try to meet as a support group face-to-face at some sort of retreat. It's best to have a certified, professional therapist lead these meetings. Having a trained victim's advocate at such a retreat is also a good idea. Victims meeting alone without a therapist and/or other trained advocate can be disastrous.

d) At some point, begin to organize your group by selecting one or two spokesperson(s) to officially represent your survivor's group. If you have a group of male and female survivors of abuse, it is probably a good idea to have one male and one female spokesperson. At any rate, if you have more than one spokesperson, they need to be able to work together smoothly.

Some qualifications of spokespersons are: strong leadership and organizational skills; strong communications skills (you will likely be communicating to an array of constituents including other MKs, missionary parents, leaders of supporting churches, the denomination/mission board under which abuse occurred, other mission boards, and at some point you may even need to communicate with the religious and secular press); courage and endurance.

If you cannot network and form a group of survivors, at any rate do your best to get some kind of support group surrounding you to strengthen you before you report the abuse. Parents can and should play key roles here. Unfortunately we have found that in the close-knit (enmeshed?) missionary community parents often become part of the problem initially and can be so threatened by the report of abuse that they try to avoid the issues or even try to silence their own children. MKSafetyNet and other groups and survivors can be of great help here. Other survivors with helpful websites and input include Dee Miller and Ruth Van Reken. MKSafetyNet website has links with them and with Marie Fortune's excellent organization as well.

e) Find several professionals to support your group and to serve as your advocates. A professional therapist, a trained advocate (a trained clergy advocate is ideal), and if you can get one, a good lawyer, are especially helpful. For help in locating such individuals, contact MKSafetyNet, Dee Miller and/or Marie Fortune's websites.

2. Initial contact with the mission board/denomination:

a) Never, ever, go to a mission board or denomination alone to make a report. Isolation is your worst enemy. It is much easier for a religious institution to dismiss the lone individual who comes to report abuse than to dismiss a group of victims. The initial response of institutions, including religious ones, is usually to protect themselves. They do this in many ways: stonewalling and delaying tactics, DIM Thinking (Dee Miller's acronym for denial, ignorance, and minimization of the abuse), outright attacks on victims who step forward, "shooting" the messenger, etc. Divide and conquer is another strategy, dividing your group somehow or setting another group of MKs against your group. The point is, there is strength in numbers. When you make a report, report as a group.

b) Have your group's spokesperson contact the mission board/denomination by letter. The letter should

1. Identify who you are (name of your group if you have come up with a name) and your spokesperson's name, and that you are coming to them as a group,
2. that you would like to make a report of abuse of missionary children,
3. at this point, do not reveal details of the abuse such as exactly what happened, names of perpetrators and victims, etc. A generalized statement that you want to make a report of child abuse is sufficient.
4. Ask if the mission board/denomination has the following in place: a designated person to officially receive reports of child abuse. If so, their name, title, address, phone number, fax number. Current policies regarding child abuse, including procedures which spell out how your report will be handled step by step. What professional training or resource persons does their organization have on hand to appropriately receive and respond to the report of abuse so as to avoid further re-injury?
5. In your letter set a deadline with them in terms of when you need to hear back from them. Two weeks, three weeks at the latest, is more than sufficient response time from them. If they have not responded by the deadline, follow through promptly and contact them again with the help of one of your professional support team (a clergy advocate or therapist can contact them on your behalf or with you).

c) If you hear back from the mission/denomination and they seem to have appropriate personnel and procedures in place, ask for a face-to-face meeting with them, at their expense. The purpose of this meeting is threefold: first, to share your stories (i.e.., "Here is what happened to me, here's how I felt at the time, here's what I saw happening to other children, etc.). Second, to share the impact this had on your life right up to the present time. Third, to share what you need from the denomination now (e.g. payment for past and future therapy bills, holding perpetrators and the system accountable, ensuring that policies, personnel and structures are in place so that abuse does not occur now and the future, etc.) The role of mission/church leaders at the first meeting should be to simply listen, to hear your stories. At the end of the meeting you can work with church leaders on "where do we go from here", emphasizing what the survivors need for their healing. Perhaps several other meetings with mission/church leaders will need to take place.

3. If you need to go public:

Most victims of clergy/missionary abuse simply want the church to "be the church" to them. Most victims want the church to reach out to them, hear their stories, believe their stories, hold the perpetrators and the church appropriately responsible, engage in those biblical disciplines of confession, repentance, restitution, justice making and healing.

Unfortunately, these kinds of responses on the part of the church are all too often the exception rather than the rule. Top leaders of religious organizations are extremely fearful of being taken "public", i.e. 1) being exposed in the press (religious and secular); 2)public demonstrations outside their headquarters or annual business meetings/conferences; 3)victims going directly to the churches/lay supporters with reports of abuse and thus by-passing top church officials; 4, lawsuits, etc.

If the mission/denomination stonewalls, attacks victims, etc., you may find it necessary to go public in various ways. Here is where advice from your professionals is crucial, especially legal advice. If you find yourself needing or wanting to go public, MKSafetyNet and other survivor groups such as Clergy Abuse Linkup and SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) have experience working with the media, have legal contacts, and other resources to help your group.

4. The crucial role of missionary parents:

From experience we have learned that if missionary parents remain silent and do not speak up on behalf of their children, the mission board or denomination's hand is greatly strengthened. On the other hand, when missionary parents have stood up, gained their voices and spoken out strongly on behalf of their children with church leaders, the church or mission is more likely to act. Missionary parents are often torn between protecting their children; protecting their colleagues, beloved mission board and church; and protecting themselves and their own images as good, productive missionaries. Silence on the part of parents in the face of reports of abuse further isolates the victims and reinjures deeply. Parents, please get your voices, network among yourselves, support your children and speak out. Demand that your mission board or church function "as the church" on behalf of your children.

5. Once your group has reported to the mission board/denomination accountable:

Stay connected within your group and and stay connected with organizations and individuals such as MKSafetyNet and Dee Miller. There is strength and wisdom in numbers. Instead of reinventing the wheel, get input from other survivors who have been through this stuff before.

6. Examples of groups who have experience with the above process:

1. Mamou Steering Committee. Synopsis of our story illustrating the above.
2. Presbyterian Group from Congo once they get further down the road.

Written by: Rich Darr, Survivor of Mamou

The following are suggestions for drafting a letter requesting an investigation into a boarding school. All or parts of the following could be included, depending on the specifics of your situation.

1. A statement that personnel at the American/Canadian head office of the mission organization have already been informed about abuse at the boarding school, but that no adequate action has been taken. Perhaps detail some of the communications.
2. A statement that there was a significant pattern of abuse at this school. Perhaps summarize some of the abuses which occurred.
3. Include representative stories from school alumni.
4. Mention that some alumni are only willing to tell their stories if they believe that they will be taken seriously and appropriate action is taken. They do not want to be re-victimized by telling their stories and then having them dealt with inappropriately.
5. Point out that you are aware of many alumni from this school who are struggling as adults with the consequences of their experience of abuse. While some have been able to move forward, others remain paralyzed and are in desperate need of help.
6. A request that the committee investigating this school take the following action:
   1. Conduct a full, independent investigation of abuse at this school. Invite all alumni to tell their stories.
   2. Confront perpetrators, discipline them.
   3. Produce and publish a written report with findings.
   4. Take the initiative in bringing healing to adult MKs. Offer to cover counseling expenses.
   5. Hold a retreat for alumni from this school similar to the one held for Mamou alumni.

I think copies of this letter should go to the Chairman of the Boards of both the Canadian and U.S. mission organizations. The more people that are copied on the letter, the greater the chance of action being taken.