Ruling elders are members of church congregations who are elected to be members of the session of that church. The session includes teaching elders/ministers and ruling elders. If you are a victim of or witness to abuse or misconduct committed by a ruling elder of a church affiliated with the PC(USA), you should report the abuse or misconduct to the clerk of session of session of that church or the minister who is the head of staff. If you are not sure who the clerk or head of staff are, please call or email the church office for assistance.

Deacons are members of church congregations who are elected to provide pastoral care and support to members of a congregation and visitors. If you are a victim of or witness to abuse or misconduct committed by a deacon of a church affiliated with the PC(USA), you should report the abuse or misconduct to the clerk of session of session of that church or the minister who is the head of staff. If you are not sure who the clerk or head of staff are, please call or email the church office for assistance.

If you are a mission co-worker who is a victim of or witness to sexual misconduct in your mission field, you can make a report to the PC(USA) Helpline at 866-607-7233. The Mission Co-Worker Handbook also provides that mission co-workers who know of or become aware of discrimination, harassment, or perceived harassment, whether or not that mission co-worker is the victim or target of the discrimination or harassment, should report it immediately to his/her regional liaison, area coordinator, or the mission personnel team coordinator.

Prevention

Creating Policies

The Book of Order provides that all councils of the PC(USA) should have sexual abuse policies and child and youth protection policies (G-3.0106). On the Create Policies page, you will find information concerning how your council can create policies.

You can also find a helpful, free resource, the abuse prevention policy template, a resource on the SafeConduct Workbench of the Insurance Board. This template can be a tool to help your council create or update your policies. This resource is free to all PC(USA) councils.

Background and Reference Checks

One step in prevention and a best practice is to perform criminal background checks and reference checks on all council staff and volunteers who work and will work with minors. This includes checks for regular day-to-day work (for example, Christian education, children’s choirs, meetings), as well as intermittent or special events (for example, conferences, monthly or annual meetings).

Training/Awareness

“The goals of training are to ensure that staff and volunteers who work with children understand the nature of child abuse and how to respond if it becomes apparent that a child has been abused. Training is also useful in reviewing and modifying the church policy, as volunteers who have had experience working with the policy share their experience” (We Won’t Let It Happen Here, page 20).

Awareness is the key to the prevention of sexual misconduct. When awareness is raised, people are often able to spot and stop inappropriate conduct before it harms others.

Having a policy is important, but it is of little value if staff and volunteers are not trained at least annually on policy and procedures.

Resources for raising awareness

Is Nothing Sacred? A timely case study, designed for congregations for preventing and finding effective solutions for sexual abuse against congregants by clergy, by the Rev. Marie M. Fortune (Cleveland: The United Church Press, 1999).

A Sacred Trust: Boundary Issues for Clergy and Spiritual Teachers. A program of four training videos that increase awareness of the need for healthy boundaries in the clergy-congregant or student-teacher relationship. Available through the Faith Trust Institute.

Annotated Bibliography of Clergy Sexual Abuse. The phenomenon of sexual abuse as committed by people in fiduciary relationships is widespread among helping professions. Those who perpetrate these violations are not confined to any nation. This bibliography is oriented to several specific contexts in which this phenomenon occurs. By James S. Evinger. Available through the Faith Trust Institute.

Develop a training program

Annual training sessions are one way to raise the awareness of both staff and volunteers. Components should include: review of the ministry’s sexual misconduct policy, recognizing the signs and symptoms of abuse, maintaining healthy boundaries, appropriate use of technology, and reporting of suspected abuse. Someone who is familiar with sexual misconduct prevention practices should lead the training sessions. If there is no one in your ministry with this expertise, then contact your presbytery.

The training should be biblically based, using Scripture to remind participants of God’s call for justice and compassion. Relevant passages include (but are not limited to) Exodus 22:21-23, Micah 6:8, Psalm 77:1-2, Amos 5:24, and Matthew 19:14.

Be aware of prevention techniques

There are several guidelines that will enhance the atmosphere of prevention. Some of these are:

Require teachers/leaders to work in pairs.
Know and maintain appropriate personal boundaries.
Have written policies and procedures in place.
Use both background and reference checks for staff and volunteers.
Physical plant (such as windows in doors, bathroom policies, communication between child care and parents).
Consider healthy body education.

Find additional resources

Safe Ministries Resources

I need to report abuse or misconduct!

I received a report of abuse or misconduct

My council received a report of abuse or misconduct

If you are a council that receives a report of abuse or misconduct and you need guidance, please click the button “Information for Councils That Receive Reports.”

If your council receives a report of abuse or misconduct, you can contact the PC(USA) Helpline for assistance at 866-607-7233. When you call, you will speak with a trained professional who will help guide you onto a path about how to respond to a report of abuse or misconduct and can provide you with helpful resources concerning how to respond.

The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) requires that each council have its own sexual misconduct policy and a separate child and youth protection policy (G-3.0106, Book of Order).

Teaching and ruling elders, deacons and certified Christian educators are mandated to report to civil and ecclesiastical authorities when there is reasonable suspicion of child abuse (G-4.0302, Book of Order). Click here [link to PowerPoint] to download a PowerPoint that further explains mandatory reporting in the PC(USA).

The Book of Order defines sexual abuse of another person, which is a form of sexual misconduct, as:

any offense involving sexual conduct in relation to:

any person under the age of 18 years or anyone over the age of 18 years without the mental capacity to consent; or
any person when the conduct includes force, threat, coercion, intimidation, or misuse of ordered ministry of position.
(D-10.0401(c), Book of Order). Charges of sexual abuse may be brought under the Book of Order regardless of the date on which the offense is alleged to have occurred (D-10.0401(b)).

All responses to reports of abuse or misconduct will follow the procedures set out in the Book of Order, Rules of Discipline in the Book of Order and any employment policies of the local church. For additional information, please contact the Manager/Judicial Process and Social Witness, 800-728-7228, ext. 5432, flor.velez-diaz@pcusa.org

When you receive a report of abuse or misconduct, listening to someone reveal their own experience is never a comfortable conversation. The victim has trusted you enough to share this secret; it is critical that in your reaction you affirm the victim and be supportive.

The following suggestions can help you respond appropriately.

Listen carefully and attentively.
Avoid the temptation to assess the truthfulness of the disclosure; that is the job of trained professionals.
Assure the person/child the alleged abuse was not his/her fault; he or she did not cause it, no matter what the abuser may have said or done.
Reassure the person/child that he or she did the right thing in coming to you.
Write down what was told to you so that you can pass accurate information on to those investigating the abuse.
Adapted from Preventing Child Abuse: A Guide for Churches, by Beth Swagman. Grand Rapids, MI: CRC Publications, 1997.

If you have questions concerning reports of abuse or misconduct, how to respond, processes in the Book of Order or related issues, please contact the Manager/Judicial Process and Social Witness, 800-728-7228, ext. 5432, flor.velez-diaz@pcusa.org

Report of Abuse or Misconduct in the PC(USA)

If you know the title or position of the person about whom you want to make a report about, look at the list below for more specific information and guidance about how to make a report. If you do not know the title or position of the person, seek help by contacting the PC(USA) Helpline at (866) 607-7233 or contact the Manager/Judicial Process and Social Witness at 800-728-7228 ext. 5432 flor.velez-diaz@pcusa.org If you go down the list of guidance and information and do not find what you need, please call the PC(USA) Helpline.

Teaching Elders/Ministers of Word and Sacrament