Thread by @futuristguy

4 KEYS TO A TRULY "INDEPENDENT" INVESTIGATION. @netgrace_org founder Boz Tchividjian @BozT overviews importance of investigation into reported cases of abuse where an accused institution does not control the investigators, process, findings or report. /1

religionnews.com/2015/10/16/are…

Key quotes and/or summaries.

THE ACCUSED INSTITUTION DOES NOT CONTROL:

1. THE INVESTIGATORS

They should not hire a firm with bias, conflicts of interest, or fiduciary duty to the institution.

They do not determine who is on investigation team, if or when updates are required.

“A fiduciary duty is a legal duty to act solely in another party’s interests. … An independent investigator has a fiduciary duty to the truth, regardless of where it may be found.”

2. THE PROCESS

“Internal investigations grant the institution ultimate authority on what evidence can be reviewed & considered by the investigator. … Internal investigations also allow institutions to control the process by unilaterally limiting the scope of the investigation.

“An independent investigation is designed to prohibit those who are being investigated from determining who is interviewed, how such interviews are conducted, or limiting the scope of any other evidence the investigator determines is relevant.”

3. THE FINDINGS

“Independent investigations prohibit third parties, including the institution being investigated, from unilaterally accessing any such sensitive and personal data. This provides a significant comfort to those who participate in the investigation [continued]

knowing that their interviews are truly confidential.”

“In an internal investigation, the institution being investigated can have complete access to the investigative findings. Findings can include witness interview recordings, notes, transcripts, and any documents [continued]

a witness may have turned over to the investigator. This means that any highly personal and sensitive information a victim has provided to an investigator is accessible by the leaders of the very organization that has been accused of failing these same victims. [continued]

Many abuse survivors are never informed of this when they reluctantly sit down to be interviewed in a process they have been assured is ‘independent’.”

4. THE REPORT

“One of the most disconcerting characteristics of an internal investigation is that the investigator often works alongside of the institution in drafting and authorizing the final report. This means that the very entity being investigated [continued]

will ultimately determine what the content of the final report.

“Not only does an internal investigation allow the institution to determine the content of the final report, but it also has the authority to decide who reads it.”

“An independent investigation requires the investigator to draft and authorize the final report separate from any institutional input or control. The investigator alone determines the content of the final report and who will receive it. In most independent investigations, [cont]

a complete copy of the final report will be provided to the subject institution & to any ... abuse survivors who participated in what usually is a very painful process. Some independent investigators will actually require that the final report be posted publicly for all to read.”

To summarize, the accused institution that intends to become worthy of trust will "get out of the driver's seat" in an investigation that is truly independent. They will act with urgency, sincerity, & transparency; & follow through with accountability & without self-preservation.

To see how these 4 key elements of turning over control -- investigators, process, findings, report -- have & have not been applied in actual situations, see the "Contrasting Cases: Independent Versus Internal Investigations" page on SBC Abuse Solutions.

sbcabusesolutions.wordpress.com/case-studies-o…

I recommend interacting with following threads to apply these 4 key elements of turning over control to the current situation of SBC Executive Committee. They have still-unresolved issues involving sexual abuses, cover-ups, harmful responses to survivors.

https://twitter.com/SBCExecComm/status/1403428155327668225

Analysis thread by Rachael Denhollander @R_Denhollander -- survivor, advocate, and lawyer. She notes where SBC Executive Committee language indicates vague or missing parameters, and how to address these issues and why.

https://twitter.com/R_Denhollander/status/1403462227143823361

Concerns of Lori Anne Thompson @LoriAnneThomps2 and others on Guidepost Solutions, the firm engaged by the SBC Executive Committee to conduct a review / investigation. The thread also includes some details on Ms Denhollander's experiences with Guidepost.

https://twitter.com/LoriAnneThomps2/status/1403676325026615299

Key points that Jules Woodson @juleswoodson11 -- a survivor of sexual abuse by an SBC minister -- is asking of the SBC Executive Committee to ensure Guidepost Solutions can carry out a genuinely independent investigation.

https://twitter.com/juleswoodson11/status/1403584393612972032

Comments from Dee Ann Miller @writer_dee, a pioneer in abuse prevention and survivor advocacy. She expresses concerns about the kinds of experts engaged in an investigation.

https://twitter.com/writer_dee/status/1403721560033214465

Comments from Jared Wellman @JaredcWellman -- an SBC Executive Committee member -- about a trustworthy investigation on options within the existing SBC polity and procedures.

https://twitter.com/JaredcWellman/status/1403527874318057474

See also Jared Wellman's recent Twitter feed for comments and links on recent actions that spurred on an investigation.

NOTE: In 2019, Pastor Wellman was one who sought and read input from survivors and advocates, and responded to those who emailed him.

twitter.com/JaredcWellman

See link from Todd Benkert @toddbenkert to SBC Voices article, "Addressing the SBC Abuse Crisis — A Needed Next Step."

“I’ll be making a motion 'to hire an outside organization to oversee an audit and assessment of sexual abuse within the SBC.'”

https://twitter.com/toddbenkert/status/1403722006730792962

If you have followed Jen Lyell's @jenlyell specific case, you'll understand why she points at conflicts of interest between those who set up Guidepost review / investigation & SBC leaders who should be investigated / held accountable for abuses of power.

https://twitter.com/jenlyell/status/1403466637760684035

I have followed issues of systemic abuse in the SBC for years (others have for decades!). For #SBC19, I compiled SBC ABUSE SOLUTIONS -- "a resource blog to equip people to identify, research, and resolve systemic abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention."

sbcabusesolutions.wordpress.com

Christa Brown @ChristaBrown777 is an abuse survivor & pioneer in calling SBC leaders & members to take responsibility for a system that still shuffles around predatory ministers & stonewalls victims. See her feed for important facts & informed commentary.

twitter.com/ChristaBrown777

Dave Pittman @Dave_Pittman is another survivor advocate to follow. Check out his Twitter feed for his own trauma-informed tweets and retweets of important news reports, observations, and analysis on abuse intervention and prevention -- esp. regarding SBC.

twitter.com/Dave_Pittman

Additional information and clarification from Todd Benkert in this tweet.

https://twitter.com/toddbenkert/status/1403788799713460232

For more details on another motion at #SBC21 calling for an independent investigation, see the following link and the Twitter accounts of the co-authors, Grant Gaines @DGrantGaines and Ronnie Parrot @ronniep.

https://twitter.com/DGrantGaines/status/1403720403596582919

That should have said Ronnie *Parrott* -- I apologize for the typo.

Here's the link to the June 7th article by Yonat Shimron in Religion News Service that reports the background leading up to that call by Pastors Gaines and Parrott for an investigation.

religionnews.com/2021/06/07/aft…

I branched the following three tweets off of the tweet above about Todd Benkert's proposed resolution at SBC21. I am repeating them below so they stay with the main thread. These are important pastoral leadership responses to the situation with the SBC Executive Committee.

https://twitter.com/futuristguy/status/1403806759492284417

https://twitter.com/futuristguy/status/1403808186591711232

https://twitter.com/futuristguy/status/1403809523219922944

Rob Downen @RobDownenChron was on the Houston Chronicle reporters who produced the 2019 series on SBC "Abuse of Faith." The team documented over 700 victims of sexual abuse by SBC ministers.

Here's his tweet about the June 13th @SBCForSuchATime rally.

https://twitter.com/RobDownenChron/status/1403792336455442442

Additional thoughts on investigator hiring and investigation processes from two advocates who've earned my trust and so I've come to value their discernment and opinions: Boz Tchividjian and Rachael Denhollander.

https://twitter.com/BozT/status/1403930733438287873

Thread from Rachael Denhollander @R_Denhollander.

https://twitter.com/R_Denhollander/status/1404121267746349059

Thread from Boz Tchividjian @BozT.

https://twitter.com/BozT/status/1404148954078535682

Trustworthiness is a key point to extract from the many discussions about responses by SBC pastors & leaders to sexual abuse survivors. So many national influencers within the SBC have created a dismal track record that their reputation as untrustworthy taints local churches.

The documentation that supports lack of trust in the SBC by abuse survivors and advocates has been building for *decades* -- with even more coming to light especially since the beginning of the #MeToo hashtag in September 2017. SBC members need to consider how this comes across.

As this 2019 thread shows, given global demographics on sexual abuse/violence, SBC's reputation on this front has strong implications for effectiveness in evangelism, missions, and ministry.

Lack of trust on this has lingered. Reckoning time has arrived.

https://twitter.com/futuristguy/status/1185186272291123201

Listen to and learn from survivors ... hear what is woven into the SBC Sexual Abuse Survivors Joint Statement they have posted ... act with conscience and compassion.

https://twitter.com/SBCForSuchATime/status/1404153891600715780