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Allegations of sexual harassment and abuse among Church of England clergy must be faced, say prominent Anglican women.
They say the the church must take a lead in tackling the issue.
Jayne Ozanne, a senior member of the church’s ruling general synod, wrote to the Guardian newspaper about the problem.
She said harassment within the Church is “manifold” and present “at virtually every level of the hierarchy”.
Her letter says “abuse of power, particularly in relation to sexual misdemeanours, will never be dealt with by those within the same said power structures”.
“The urge to protect one’s reputation is too strong, as is the human inclination to believe one’s ‘mates’ rather than an unknown protagonist set on ‘causing trouble'”.
Ozanne urged the church to lead the way in addressing the scandal.
This would involve setting up an independent process where people can raise concerns and allegations of assault.
Using the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter, a number of female clergy and lay members of the church have indicated they have experienced sexual harassment or assault.
The hashtag has become well-known recently as Hollywood movie stars have used it to show they have been victims of sexual misconduct in the film industry.
The clergy disclosing harassment and abuse in this way include Jo Bailey Wells, the bishop of Dorking.
Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester and the first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords, says recent Hollywood publicity shows how widespread sexual harassment is in society.
“I think it’s an issue in society and therefore we would be naive if we thought it wasn’t also an issue in the church.
“The danger is when we imagine that the church is somehow an elite group of people. Yes, we are trying to be followers of Jesus Christ and therefore we should be aspiring to living our lives differently.
“But actually we are all human beings.
“The danger is if we begin to think it doesn’t exist in the C of E [Church of England]. Of course it does. We need to ensure we have conversations to ensure people can come forward and will be taken seriously.”
Source
- The Guardian
- Christian Today
- Image: Ms.JD
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