Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed on Church and Protecting Children

[Not Buying It]

This is a great op-ed article:

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5440550-1 ... t-children

Placing implicit trust in church leaders and Mormon neighbors who seem like "good people" is not enough. Sometimes predators use positions of trust and authority to deceive well-meaning parents and to attract vulnerable children.

The Church does a terrible job of protecting children. Minors are routinely placed in positions where they are alone with Church leaders. Middle age bishopric members ask teenage boys and girls disgusting questions about their sexual practices alone behind closed doors. Young men are assigned to be home teaching companions to older men and are alone with them regularly. Children wander church buildings unsupervised all the time. Even the policy about Primary classes not having a single male teacher gets violated on a regular basis when one can't be there. And everyone trusts everyone else implicitly just because they are members of the Church. The Church is a child sexual predator's dream come true.

We need more articles like this - ones that go much farther in highlighting the dangers to children in the Church. We need more public discussion about this. The Church will never change its lax and dangerous policies until forced to do so by negative public attention.

[SeeNoEvil]

This is a great op-ed article:

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/5440550-1 ... t-children

Placing implicit trust in church leaders and Mormon neighbors who seem like "good people" is not enough. Sometimes predators use positions of trust and authority to deceive well-meaning parents and to attract vulnerable children.

The Church does a terrible job of protecting children. Minors are routinely placed in positions where they are alone with Church leaders. Middle age bishopric members ask teenage boys and girls disgusting questions about their sexual practices alone behind closed doors. Young men are assigned to be home teaching companions to older men and are alone with them regularly. Children wander church buildings unsupervised all the time. Even the policy about Primary classes not having a single male teacher gets violated on a regular basis when one can't be there. And everyone trusts everyone else implicitly just because they are members of the Church. The Church is a child sexual predator's dream come true.

We need more articles like this - ones that go much farther in highlighting the dangers to children in the Church. We need more public discussion about this. The Church will never change its lax and dangerous policies until forced to do so by negative public attention.

THIS!! Thanks NBI for bringing this article to our attention.

The safest community is a community that works together to protect -all- children from predators. - sltrib

Yes we ALL need to work together but the church doesn't seem to want to be part of the community! The church is a breeding ground for this type of behavior and it is mind boggling that with all the groups and awareness of this abuse the church still continues to put their members in vulnerable situations. There simply is no more excuse for this to continue in the church. The very mention of the church and the damage it has done to countless lives of the innocent shakes me to my core! I immediately come unraveled and find myself wanting to jump in the car and drive across the country and knock on the Q15's door! Isn't anyone home at the COB? Why can't they see this madness.... or better yet why can't anyone seem to end it?? What is it going to take for policy to change? .... Hey Q15 ....All you need to do is pull another one of your revelations out of your hat and TaDa! policies instantly changed because God said so! At least that would be a start. Why oh why can't the Q15 pull their heads out of the sand and see what is happening? What would a policy change look like? Here's a start Q15:

1. Children under the age of 18 are no longer to be alone with church leaders behind closed doors
2. Bishopric members can no longer ask teenage boys and girls about their sexual practices.
3. Raise home teaching age to 18.
4. Children are no longer allowed to wander unsupervised in a church building or event.
5. Primary? I'd like to see that brainwashing organization done away with all together but ......
6. Add a class on abuse and rape culture education for all adults and children.

I am thinking about drafting a letter to the church. I would appreciate your thoughts or if you'd like to join in let me know. I would also like to know if there are any movements out there who have already started the ball rolling. As you can see this is something I am passionate about. There is something wrong with a church that causes a child of about 10 to think abuse must be part of God's plan for her. There is something wrong with a church that turns their backs on it's victims and does not stand up for change.

[Not Buying It]

Thanks SeeNoEvil. You are absolutely right about the Church's culpability in putting its young members in vulnerable situations, and I for one strongly endorse your recommendations, and share your strong feelings that something needs to be done. However, I think a letter to the Church will be ignored - the Church responds to external pressure, not internal pressure. Until the Church finds itself publicly embarrassed by this issue, I am sorry to say I don't expect there will be much change. Think of the BYU Honor Code sexual assault scandal - that caused change, but only after BYU and the Church were publicly humiliated (and deservedly so).

But you hit the nail on the head - it is madness that these dangerous policies continue to put minors in vulnerable situations, and it needs to end immediately. The Church could not move too soon to act on your suggestions. I wish I had the wherewithal to focus public attention on it like the brave sexual assault survivors who got those horrible Honor Code policies changed at BYU (who, by the way, have my undying admiration).

[SeeNoEvil]

I agree with you on the letter. I didn't think my little letter would cause them to drop to their knees and change. It's biggest effect would have been on me making me feel like I had done something. It is frustrating to sit back and watch the children and families suffer. I applaud the young ladies at BYU for coming forward as well. What we need is an advocate with a big name and Mormon connections ..... paging Elizabeth Smart.....

[Anon70]

I'm pretty surprised at some of the comments. I would think this is an area where most reasonable people would agree but many are critical not just of the article but the writer.

[MoPag]

I remember right after the Catholic sex abuse scandal broke, they put little corner windows in all the classroom doors in our ward building.

1. Children under the age of 18 are no longer to be alone with church leaders behind closed doors
2. Bishopric members can no longer ask teenage boys and girls about their sexual practices.
3. Raise home teaching age to 18.
4. Children are no longer allowed to wander unsupervised in a church building or event.
5. Primary? I'd like to see that brainwashing organization done away with all together but ......
6. Add a class on abuse and rape culture education for all adults and children.

I like these recommendations. It's just so hard to convince people that things like this happen even in "the one true church."

[Give It Time]

I find the recommendations reasonable. The home teaching thing didn't hit me until I became a single mother. Then, I realized, I'm letting my son get in the car of a man I really don't know where they will be in private and that man can groom him and do all kinds of stuff under the pretense of going home teaching and I would never know about it. This is nuts!

Then I told the bishop I didn't want my son's companion even giving him a ride. They didn't get it, but they accommodated. My apologies to any innocent men reading this. We shouldn't be even grooming our sons to accept this as normal. It may not be you, but it may be some other man and now our young mens' defenses are down, because we've taught them it's normal to get into a vehicle with a man they know, but not that well.

[Not Buying It]

My apologies to any innocent men reading this. We shouldn't be even grooming our sons to accept this as normal. It may not be you, but it may be some other man and now our young mens' defenses are down, because we've taught them it's normal to get into a vehicle with a man they know, but not that well.

Don't apologize. I know I'm not going to be a problem. But I don't like it when people treat me like they just assume I'm not going to be a problem, because that means there is a good chance they would also trust a pedophile who knew the right things to say. No one should be so above suspicion that the safeguards don't apply.

And yet, the Church assumes a bishop is above suspicion and safeguards don't apply - go ahead and close the door and be alone with a girl and ask her about all the sexual stuff she's done. The other male Primary teacher doesn't show up? No problem, if you think the one who did show up is trustworthy, go ahead and leave him alone in a room with the kids. And by all means, how could you possibly hint there could ever be a problem with men being alone with boys for home teaching?

We need the safeguards because even a Prophet will get a teenage girl in the sack. Sexual manipulation was part of the Church from the get go, no one should ever try and say any leader is so above suspicion no safeguards are needed.