IN the backdrop of the controversy involving some Scripture Union India staffers who allegedly exhibited inappropriate behavior with underage girls with whom they came into contact at VBS and other outreaches, The Christian Messenger sought to know the views of Christian women leaders on the issue. Kavitha Emmanuel and Joy Christina Rajaratnam, founders of the Women of Worth Movement, graciously agreed to express their views and suggest the way forward for churches and Christian ministries involved in children’s outreaches.
By Kavitha Emmanuel & Joy Christina Rajaratnam
THE Bible is crystal clear that we are to value, nurture and safeguard the human rights of all individuals, especially children. The word ‘shalom’ in the Bible means ‘complete well-being in all aspects’. If we truly believe that each child is ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’, then we need to ensure that the children in our care enjoy their childhood and grow in safe environments. We are called to protect them with utmost vigilance so that they can flourish unhindered without fear of violence or abuse. It is, therefore, imperative that all organizations and institutions follow the government protocols and set up safety policies in place for children. Prevention is certainly better than cure.
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The safety of children from child sexual abuse is not a matter to be treated lightly given the alarmingly high rates of abuse in our nation. One in two children is facing the threat of abuse or is being abused, and most of the offenders are known to the child. When violations of this kind happen, it is very unfortunate and grieves the heart of God, and it is only right that churches and organizational leaders take collective responsibility to ensure fair, unbiased investigation. Legal procedures must be followed. We need to own up to our lapses and endeavour to put better systems of accountability and safety policies in place. The good news in all this is that healing and restoration and rehabilitation is available to everyone – what we need to do is make it accessible to all. And, the fact of the matter is abuse can happen anywhere. Not checking it is what will be going against our mission. We are called to expose lies and deeds that are sinful. And we should not be afraid to do so. When we lead the offender towards confession and repentance, then there can be healing but not when we try to cover up or deny the truth.
What worries us is the attitude of people when such incidents are reported. It takes a lot of courage for a child to open up. But what we see very often is either disbelief or anger expressed at the child. Parents, teachers, and caregivers resort very easily to victim shaming, especially when it comes to a girl. They make the children feel that they are somehow responsible or have done something to contribute to such behaviour. This is so wrong and uncalled for. When a child speaks up, what we need to show is trust and appreciation for opening-up and, take the matter up for investigation ensuring the child’s confidentiality and protection. We should not hush them up or tend to not believe them when they speak up for fear that it may damage the reputation of an individual or an organization. Just imagine, if the offender goes unchecked and continues to hurt other children? Is that what we would want in an organization that is working to spiritually nurture the children?
What we do not realize is that the offender is very often in a position of power over the child and has been grooming the child for abuse. Children look up to such people especially in an environment that promises spiritual growth for the child. They assume that everything their leader says or does must be very ‘spiritual’ and genuine. We need to teach our children to filter safe and unsafe behaviour.
What saddens us is when people who have the power to bring change and protect the child from further shaming and abuse do not often stand up for the child. The Bible warns us about sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares and we certainly do not want to see wolves in sheep’s clothing – those who hurt our children and cause life-long trauma. Abuse leaves deep scars in the child and can have serious repercussions if the child is not given the appropriate help to recover.
It is high time we woke up to the challenge in front of us and educated all volunteers and leaders on child safety protocols. What is even more crucial is to screen all those who are recruited for working with children to ensure they have a clean record as well as know the safety policies that the organization has put in place. Everything we do should be in the best interest of the child. The POCSO Act, 2012 has paved the way for this.
Every church and organization should commit to a ‘zero tolerance’ principle concerning violence and abuse against children and women. There should be periodic orientation and workshops to equip both the trainers and the students to ensure they know that the church or organization is committed to their safety.
Ensure Safety Policies for women and children are in place.
By now, every organization should be aware of the safety protocols expected from institutions working with children. If they do not yet have an organizational safety policy in place it should be treated as an urgent matter. We should ensure systems are put in place as soon as possible. As mentioned earlier, it is a matter of ‘collective responsibility’ of organizational networks as well of parents to ensure that children are safe. Every parent should not only be aware of their child’s right to safety but also have an open conversation with their children regularly. Every parent should be aware of the safety policies of churches and organizations they send their children to.
Regular Orientation
Regular orientation should happen in churches and organizations for parents, teachers, and all ministry staff. We should also conduct age-appropriate orientation for children regularly. Organizations should even begin the process of screening teachers for previous offenses or misdemeanors. We need to always ensure the meeting places are under surveillance. What is also crucial is to educate children about social media safety. Teachers and students should know what is appropriate for texting. When a teacher crosses the line, the child should be free to report without fear of guilt or shame.
We are all prone to crises like this, and therefore it is important to know how to respond when it strikes us or our ministries.
Crisis Management Plan
Every organization / ministry must have a crisis management plan (CMP) in place. A crisis management plan will help us identify potential threats, face adversity with courage and truth, and have a plan in place to know what to do when it occurs. As part of the CMP is a communications strategy. It simply outlines all the five Ws of communication- why we have to have a statement, what should be in the statement, who will speak for the organization, when and where to make the statement, and finally, the how (the mediums, methods we will use to make the statement).
Culture of Truth & Trust
We need to equip women and children who are the most vulnerable in our given contexts today to stand up for themselves. We need to empower them to know their rights to safety and well-being. They need to learn to speak up without fear. This is not often encouraged. We silence them because we live in a shame culture. But as God’s people we are asked to be counter-culture – to break norms and stereotypes that steal their God-given dignity, value, and worth. In the pretext of protecting God’s ministry, we cannot condone violence and abuse. God certainly would not want us to build His kingdom on such weak foundations. Truth must be told. Victims should be heard.
The church is also a place for healing and restoration. Both the offender and the victim can find healing and hope but not without a process in place. Rehabilitation of the offender needs to be a careful and highly monitored process. This should be done with great vigilance. The potential for repeat offenses should be weighed. Legal procedures must take its course.
We should also ensure reporting processes are intact ensuring confidentiality and protection for the victims. We should foster a culture that welcomes children to report instances of abuse. We need to ensure that our children know that their safety matters to us and that when they report any matter, they will be heard. We should educate parents and the children to know that under POCSO there is provision for complete anonymity for the victim. At no instance should the victim’s identity be revealed. Even during the trial, the child is assured complete protection and does not need to appear in public.
As Christian organizations, our priority must be to always speak the truth, stand for the most vulnerable, and accept responsibility for mistakes/failures. We have to be sincere about the investigation and be careful to communicate our findings to the public. When the truth is told, we build back trust in the children and among the community of believers towards the organization. Hiding facts harbours suspicion and can deter children from even trusting an adult again. In our effort to protect the offender or the organization we may be pushing the child away from their Faith.
Several organizations are equipped to help set up safety policies and CMPS in place for churches and organizations. We should network with such organizations to help put them in place.
We should also endeavour to bring about a change in mindset and attitude about abuse in general and teach our congregation to steer away from victim shaming and guilt. As a culture, we shy away from educating our children about sex or sexuality. We think that educating them will unnecessarily expose them to information they need not have. But what we forget is that we live in an era of over-information and our children are exposed to all kinds of information on social media. What we need to do, therefore, is teach them whatever is true, noble, right, and pure on such matters.
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me”. Are the children coming to Him without fear? Or are they afraid of the places we have created for them to come to Him?
For workshops and orientation on Child Sexual Abuse for your churches and organizations, Women of Worth can be contacted here.
