I drafted model language and standards and web content for the Credentialing Committee at the request of one person working for the EC who wanted this done well.
They would not speak to me, nor accept or seek help from anyone.
On the Caring Well curriculum team alone there were 2 attorneys, 1 clinical psychologist, the detective who oversaw the Nassar investigation, and multiple licensed counselors and social workers. None of us, no one, was asked to help draw up best standards investigation practices.
Repeatedly Cred. Comm. leaders told @SusanCodone they couldn't do anything because the policies limited them. Forgetting to add that THEY created the policies they blamed for their troubles, or that they could change them at any time, or that model guidelines were even provided.
This is not naivete. This is not an accident. This isn't doing the best they can.
This is intentional deception and refusal to create meaningful reform.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Reminder: Lest we categorize how the scandal with Josh Duggar was handled in 2015, as a "Gothard problem", this is a reminder that one of the family's pastors was Ronnie Floyd of the SBC. He did an interview with People Magazine on Duggar's behalf. . .
(thread)
And his church released a statement. Key themes were that "everyone sins", there is forgiveness (no mention of what genuine repentance would look like) and that scandals have happened before and will happen again.
This is the same Ronnie Floyd who two years ago. . .
Became head of the SBC's Executive Committee (the group that makes all the decisions) shortly after their publishing arm (Baptist Press) defamed the highest ranking female SBC executive (who worked for Lifeway) by reporting her violent abuse as an affair. . .
I don’t even know where to begin with what we need to learn from this situation with Josh Duggar. If you haven’t paid attention to updates, you should, because it is a glaring example of the problems we have in our legal system, and especially in conservative culture.
(thread)
The images and videos Josh downloaded for his own sexual pleasure were of toddlers and babies being sexually assaulted. 18 months to 3 years old. He literally found sexual gratification in watching the sexual torture of babies and toddlers.
He was sexually aroused by toddlers and babies being painfully and violently abused. The FBI agent who conducted the investigation said it was some of the worst material he’s ever gone through. Josh searched for it, and enjoyed it. Sit with that reality. Absorb what that means.
"We are waiving attorney-client privilege during the investigation so that we can truly determine why Scott Shaw was allowed to abuse for 10 more years after 17 women reported him."
Attorneys were involved in that debacle. If you are serious about the truth, you have to waive.
"The investigation will culminate in a fully public report that details what went wrong, and why. It's critical that we understand why no one filed formal reports for 16 out of the 17 women who reported, and why no one was taken seriously."
Pastors and friends walking alongside, this is where you come in.
Here are some things you can do. Without this kind of help, it's almost impossible to leave, much less heal and get a halfway decent custody arrangement...
First, be the voice that tells the truth. Survivors' sense of normalcy is so distorted, and their trust in their own judgment and abilities so decimated, they need you to call what they are experiencing what it is: abuse and evil, and define what is actually normal and good.
This means you need to understand it yourself and learn from trusted advocates to be able to.
Be honest and blunt about the reality of abusers changing, and about enabling. Remind them that change only happens with honesty and consequences. Change doesn't require their harm.
When news broke years ago about Josh Duggar's sexual assault of his sisters, and again with the news of his Ashley Madison account, we lost friends. A lot of them.
Because I pointed out that the blame was being put on the wrong people for what his sisters were going through...
That his response minimized, miscategorized and blameshifted, and didn't demonstrate real repentance.
We pointed out the twisted theology that exists in those circles that wields "forgiveness" like a weapon and creates abusive environments. . .
I talked about the legal realities - that contrary to that community's assertions, Josh wasn't being outed against the law. Rather, legal authorities were illegally protecting HIM. Including a state trooper who didn't report the abuse, and was later found to be. . .
.@michiganstateu released an update on reforms today, allegedly in response to the Nassar scandal and input from survivors during "listening sessions". Here's start administration and the Office of General Counsel and the BoT isn't telling you:
*thread
At the time these reforms were commissioned, I and a group of survivors (@SG_Klein and @sterling_shea ) had been working directly with the BoT on an external review process...
Administration never talked to us. We asked. It was refuses.
During that process...
We vetted several firms, and specifically rejected the firm Cozon O'Connor because they had a clear conflict of interest.
Cozon O'Connor is lead by the exact same attorneys who LouAnna Simon hired in 2014/2015 to review MSUs Title IX process after so many violations were found..