The Internet Helps Keeps Unitarian Universalist Congregations Safe from Sexual Abuse
June 29, 2007
While the media covers the story of how one California church is devastated and then responds to the news of a sex offender joining their congregation a very different approach emerges across the country.Five years ago, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) was the first denomination to create a policy for a congregation’s proactive stance when dealing with the fact that some members are survivors of sexual abuse and others may have perpetrated abuse in the past. While other denominations have been rocked by sexual abuse scandals, the UUA has been quietly working with the New England Adolescent Research Institute (NEARI) and the Religious Institute for Sexual Morality, Justice and Healing to create and test a new online curriculum to train congregational leaders around the country. The safety course is called Balancing Acts: Keeping Children Safe in Congregations (see NEARI Courses).
According to Rev. Tracey Robinson-Harris, the UUA’s Director of Congregational Services, "Most people face this issue with fear and are often immobilized by that fear. We believe that we can offer people a sense of hope. Hope that if we address child sexual abuse directly we can learn how to prevent it and how to make our congregations safer places for all of us."
Recognizing the fact that many people are uncomfortable talking about sexual abuse and searching for the information they need to keep themselves, their families, and their children safe, NEARI approached the UUA with a novel approach. The Internet offers the chance to educate ourselves about issues in the privacy of our home or office. Balancing Acts allows us to reach out to those who may not feel comfortable talking about this difficult issue. The online course walks the learner through the basic information that every congregation needs to know about educating adults, teens and children, creating appropriate prevention policies, and responding appropriately to allegations of sexual abuse or the news that former offender wants to join or re-enter the congregation.
This online course is adapted from the manual prepared for the UUA by Rev. Debra Haffner, Director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing. As the co-author of the course, Haffner said she was invested in this approach because, "I have spoken to dozens of congregations across the denominational spectrum, and many more are facing this issue each year. Too many are unprepared, and this course provides a much needed training resource."
Through grants from the Unitarian Universalist Funding Program, the Jessie B Cox Charitable Trust, and the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation, the NEARI-UUA partnership developed this unique online course for any minister or religious educator to take as a proactive effort towards making a congregation safer for children. Three more courses with continuing education credits will be offered in the fall of 2007. These additional courses will cover a variety of topics concerning children and youth with sexual behavior problems.
Joan Tabachnick, one of the course instructors and a nationally recognized expert in the field of sexual violence prevention, added, "When we begin to recognize the fact that this issue is everywhere, we can begin to implement universal precautions within all of our institutions. What is special about the UUA approach is that it is more than a one-time training. It is a shift in the way people create safety circles around the people we care about."
The UUA has long been committed to protecting children in its congregation. One important strategy used by congregations is to educate children about appropriate behavior and to help them identify and report inappropriate behavior, whether in their peers or in adults. A unique lifespan sexuality curriculum, Our Whole Lives, taught by specially trained religious educators, covers topics of safety, respect for self and others, and healthy age-appropriate expressions of sexuality. Our Whole Lives has been used in Unitarian Universalist and many United Church of Christ congregations for the past decade.
The Unitarian Universalist Association is a faith community of more than 1,000 self-governing congregations that bring to the world a vision of religious freedom, tolerance and social justice.
Contacts:
Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson-Harris
Director of Congregational Services
Unitarian Universalist Association
trobinson @ uua.org
(617) 306-1422
Joan Tabachnick
Director of Educational Services,
NEARI
(413) 540-0712 x35
(413) 320-3190 (cell phone)
NEARI Courses
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
