“My project will develop sexual ethics education that addresses the needs of church leaders who may also be survivors – or future victims – of sexual harassment and assault in their professional contexts. ”
“Boundary training”, “sexual violence prevention”, “sexual ethics training”. No matter what you call it, I’ve sat in such an instruction at least once a year for the last eight years. All were geared toward the same goal: keeping me, as a pastor, from sexually harassing or assaulting those in my spiritual charge.
And yet. As chair of our gender equity team, I’ve heard the same stories repeatedly from my colleagues. Inappropriate comments; unwanted touches; rape. Except in these tales, the pastor wasn’t the perpetrator – they were the victim.
No sexual ethics training in the church addresses what happens when colleagues, congregants, or community members are the perpetrators of sexual misconduct towards the pastor. But according to multiple studies, 80% of clergywomen will be victims of sexual harassment or assault at some point in their ministry.
My project hopes to fill this preparatory gap through two avenues. First, I will create a training for clergy specifically approaching sexual misconduct when a pastor or staff member is the victim. Second, I will create a training to be used in local churches to help prepare staff and leadership for responding to sexual misconduct when a staff or clergyperson is the victim.