When one pastor experienced unambiguous, relentless verbal bullying and sexual harassment in her own church, she immediately sought guidance and protection from within her congregation’s leadership circle. But their response left her with little hope of a good resolution: “Our goal is to make sure that both you and he feel safe to continue to fully participate in worship and leadership.” (This was a team of lay-led volunteers who seemed well-meaning, yet untrained in matters of harassment.)
She began to fear her time of fellowship and service at that congregation was coming to an end, if it could no longer be a safe community. “No,” she stated. “In cases such as these, both sides don’t need safety. One side needs safety, while the other side needs accountability, boundaries, and consequences.”
This statement was acknowledged but politely dismissed with “yes, sure, that’s what we meant to say.”
“No.” she clarified, “Those are two very different things.”
She knew that, for churches struggling to know how to protect its congregants and clergy- both male and female- from harassment, there are organizations that help with advocacy. (But will the congregation call to receive counsel?) Into Account is one such organization.
Into Account‘s Director of Theological Integrity, Dr. Hilary Jerome Scarsella, notes “Into Account does work with this kind of situation all the time and has a standard set of recommendations …[made] on a case-by-case basis, sensitive to the particularities of a given situation.”
Dr. Scarsella goes on to describe, “In general, our first priority is discerning needs for immediate (and then long term) safety. Once its clear what a particular situation demands for preserving safety, we work from there toward strict boundaries and real consequences for crossing them, coupled with community investment (so that the individual being harassed is not bearing the sole weight of responsibility for identifying when boundaries have been crossed), transparent institutional communication, and support measures for those targeted by the harassment.”
“In many situations we also recommend broader public communication about the danger as a public health/preventative strategy against future harm.”
If your church needs support in appropriately handling situations of harassment, Into Account may be a good resource. It has been on our Pastor’s Rolodex for years.