Predators recognize that authority is usually unquestioned in the Church. Church members are told to only speak positively about their leaders. The LDS Church must start to teach members that leaders are fallible. Church members should be taught how to recognize and report abuse. The following are some critical steps the Church must take in order to stop harboring and enabling sexual perpetrators.
1. Problem: The LDS culture has a reverence for power and authority of male priesthood leaders.
Solution: The LDS Church should teach members to worship God alone and to remember that all of those in the Church are imperfect, including its leaders.
2. Problems: The LDS Church does not have procedures that evaluate and scrutinize the actions of its lay leaders.
Solution: The Church needs to implement increased scrutiny of lay leaders by opening a hotline where members can report ecclesiastial abuse.
3. Problem: Perpetrators have easier access to victims through ministering and church assignments.
Solution: Two-deep service must be implemented for every calling where perpetrators could access victims, including bishop’s interviews.
3. Problem: Perpetrators realize that victims are often shamed by Church leaders so survivors seldom report abuse.
Solution: Church leaders must be trained to cease from any procedure or policy that shames abuse victims.
4. Problem: Perpetrators know that the Church seldom reports abuse to police to protect its image.
Solution: After the Church determines that the victim is safe, abuse must be reported to police.
5. Problem: Sex offenders see that Church leaders often rationalize sex abuse or blame the victims.
Solution: Church leaders on every level need extensive training on the dynamics of sexual abuse, including grooming, that perpetrators and not victims are totally responsible for abuse, and how perpetrators tend to isolate and shame victims. Church leaders who participate in further abusing abuse victims should be released.
7. Problem: Perpetrators realize that the Church seldom tag records of abusers, allowing them to abuse others.
Solution: Abusers’ church records should be tagged so that ward leaders do not assign them to positions where they can further abuse others.
8. Problem: Abusers recognize that priesthood leaders tend to cover up the offenses of their colleagues and friends.
Solution: Church leaders should be monitored by their superiors and by Relief Society presidents to make certain that they hold abuse offenders accountable. Again, the hotline would be very helpful.
9. Problem: Perpetrators observe that victims are often silenced by the Church so that they can offend without impunity.
Solution: The Church must implement policies and procedures that make certain that survivors are not silenced.
10. Problem: Since the Church does not perform background checks on members who work with children in a Church calling, serial sex offenders may serve without the knowledge of Church members or leaders.
Solution: Church must perform background check before anyone is called to serve youth or children.
11. Problem: With the Church’s emphasis on missionary work, some members invite others into their homes and lives without due diligence.
Solution: Members should receive regular training on how to protect themselves and their families from sex offenders. They should be encouraged to speak frankly with their children about the methods abusers use to groom victims and abuse children.
12. Problem: Church leaders often deal with pedophilia as a sin and not as a crime.
Solution: Church members and leaders should be taught that abuse is a crime and that is should be reported to police.
13. Problem: Church literature asks bishops to help pedophiles turn away from their sin, something they are unqualified of doing.
Solution: Bishops should be advised to turn all mental health counseling over to trained professionals.
14. When abuse is reported, the Church does not implement meaningful reforms to protect LDS children. Bishops, for example, can still interview children alone even though a number of bishops have perpetrated on children during interviews.
Solution: Church should eliminate all one-of-one bishop interviews with children and youth.
15. LDS Church officials and its lawyers typically attempt to evade responsibility by hiding behind the “free exercise of religion” clause of the Constitution, statute of limitations technicalities and clergy-penitent privilege statutes.
Solution: Church must adhere to high ethical standards and determine than protecting its members from abuse is more important than protecting its reputation.
Utah,a predominantly LDS state, ranks first in the United States in sex abuse cases of children. The Church has a systemic abuse problem that must be addressed. The Church’s abuse hotline is only for ecclesiastical leaders to call the Church’s attorneys to make certain that the Church is not injured in any way. We need an abuse hotline dedicated to LDS abuse victims and manned by professional trauma and abuse therapists who have the authority to hold perpetrators accountable in the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints has a culture that too often enables sexual abusers. Because many times Latter-Day Saints leaders has not brought known abusers to justice and has even covered up abusers’ crimes, the Church is guilty of supporting illegal behavior and making it possible for more children and adults to be victimized.
This needs to stop. Now.