Abuse helpline provides support for victims, guidance for pastors
NASHVILLE (BP) – Reporting an allegation of abuse in a church can be confusing, even intimidating.
“It’s still difficult for a lot of people, and there is a hesitancy to report,” said Manny Keyser, a pastor of Parkwood Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., and executive director of the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP). “People need to act faster. They may be afraid they’ll make a report that’s not right, but we remind them we’re not investigators. We’re not the police or judges. We are people who want to report allegations so those things can be taken care of and vetted out.”
One of the key tools available to abuse victims and ministry leaders is a helpline operated through ECAP and in partnership with SBC Abuse Prevention & Response. Live personnel can be reached at 833-611-4357 (HELP), with email responses available through [email protected] or online forms.
Calls to the helpline from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Eastern Monday through Friday are met with a live voice. Outside of those times, someone responds within 24 business hours, said Jeff Dalrymple, who directs the SBC’s Office of Abuse Prevention & Response.
“That initial call-taker is going to triage the call,” Dalrymple noted. “Our primary person to receive the calls is Southern Baptist and can also speak Spanish. We’re trying to gather all the information to figure out who is calling, what they are reporting, who is involved, what church is involved, the urgency of the situation, whether law enforcement has been notified, etc.”
ECAP also provides ministry leader coaching through the helpline. Calls come from victims, some with testimonies of abuse that occurred decades ago, and who only now feel they can share their story.
“You want to provide empathy and respect for those legacy cases,” said Keyser, who has a background in counseling and traumatology. “There are instances where someone was traumatized by a pastor, staff member or maybe a family member on a church campus. They never reported it, but something that happened recently brought it back, so they call the helpline.”
One case, Keyser shared, involved a woman in her senior years who shared her story of abuse from when she was a child.
“She never felt like she could tell anyone,” Keyser said.
Chris Pruitt, pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., consulted with Florida Baptist Convention leadership and took advantage of resources through the helpline when two separate allegations related to former staff came to his attention.
“I was confused and knew the police were involved in one of the cases already,” he told BP. “The main thing I want pastors to know about the helpline is that it’s there. We don’t think it’s going to happen at our church, so we don’t pay attention to resources like this until we need them. There were emails and other things promoting it; I just didn’t listen.”
The tools and steps offered to better care for abuse survivors helped Pruitt prepare for a situation he prays doesn’t happen.
“It took a lot of pressure off me,” he said. “At first, I felt like I was on my own, and there was this heaviness of trying to do it right. The helpline was amazing, and pastors need to know it’s available.”
ECAP provides the differing state laws on its website and how they apply to sexual abuse reporting, Keyser noted. After a call comes in, a series of questions follow to set up the triage that Dalrymple referenced.
“First, we assess the situation and try to get more of the history,” said Keyser. “We want to really find out if everything has been reported. Are the victims safe? Have the authorities responded yet? Once we find out everyone is safe, then we find out what the pastor or the person reporting needs.”
A victim’s call also includes helping them interact with law enforcement, encouraging steps toward counseling, and perhaps even finding an attorney.
Keyser discourages pastors from attempting to handle allegations alone. Prepare ahead of time.
“Get someone else to build a response team,” he said. “We provide a communication plan and coaches for churches. You don’t want to do anything that hinders an investigation or hurts the victim. Work to keep trust among your people.”
This is where the coaching resource is valuable, Dalrymple said.
“They are assigned a coach who remains with them as long as the church needs them,” he said. “This program is custom-built for churches, so there isn’t another one like it. We started with the basics of frontline worker training, which includes abuse prevention training, mandatory reporting and crisis communications.”
Preparation and fine-tuning of the helpline includes training for those taking calls, working with attorneys and developing protocols for various scenarios, such as if a caller is expressing suicidal ideation.
“I know the helpline is still available if I need it, through this case or another,” said Pruitt. “I want pastors to know about it, because it helped me.”
This article was originally published by the Baptist Press here and has been reposted with permission.
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