An interesting addition to the thread.
The LDS Church has long prided itself on its “Gold Standard” of protecting abuse victims, including a hotline for bishops to call if they find out about abuse. But there is no such system in place for ward members when the bishops themselves are the problem.
Some years ago, the Mormon church began to implement a policy of two-deep leadership (two men in all situations for safety). I’ve also seen peek windows added in Primary rooms. This was good, but not enough. Some parents I know insist that they be on hand for any of the yearly youth bishop interviews (in which young men and women are asked in private about their sexual activities and other things) or that such interviews not happen at all, but I don’t know if this is the best solution.
Can we not make sure that the leadership is two-deep for these interviews also? And that vulnerable young women speak to the Relief Society President instead of the bishop, especially when they are being asked about their sexual behavior?
In my opinion, there should also be limits about what is asked in such interviews. Too many bishops feel it is appropriate to ask detailed questions about sexual practices, not just basic outlines of what sins have occurred. This has to stop. There must be boundaries for the protection of our youth, and these boundaries need to be explicit and understandable for both sides.
http://religionnews.com/2017/07/20/morm ... ual-abuse/And, shockingly, here is an insight into how local leadership initially dealt with the situation.
A friend who was a member of Hughes’ ward spoke to me about her frustrations when their stake president came to speak about the issue. She had to ask multiple times for a concrete solution to the problem and was only told that the church would “look into it.” She and others in the ward were also instructed that they needed to forgive and simply move on.
This is unacceptable.
And the Church calls this - Gold Standard...
FTR, I have yet to see any evidence that a 'two-deep' policy is in place for any interview.