Thread by @hlgriffin

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO Probably not. I haven't looked at details of any policies, but this is literally the ONLY diocese in ACNA that expresses ANY sort of concern for whistleblower protection on their website.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO I am guessing that as I look through the documents, I will not find ANY diocese that has policies on how to conduct investigations in ways that are victim-centered & trauma informed. This hasn't been thought through.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO As a lay person, it's not clear to me how diocesan policies on abuse prevention & response are developed. Presumably, @The_ACNA has some minimum standards a diocese must meet, yes?

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO Also as a layperson, I don't get why ACNA as a denomination hasn't developed uniform standards & training. It's not realistic to me that every diocese will have leaders with the wisdom & expertise to figure this out well with the fairly minimal guidance that ACNA seems to offer

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO It seems like @StewartRuch was incapable of even clicking on the links that @ladyjessicahaze sent him about victim-centered, trauma-informed care or incorporating her detailed requests & descriptions in his search for a 3rd party investigative org.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze I'm never going to understand that level of doofusness. How good of an advocate does a survivor have to be for a bishop to listen? Does Jesus have to descend from the clouds with Leanne Payne at his side before it dawns on him that maybe being trauma-informed is a good idea?

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze It's also not the best idea that dioceses with no guidelines on handling abuse allegations other than the bare legal minimum of, "report to the authorities" should be left to figure this out on their own when one a prominent lay leader and friend is accused of abuse.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze How could their judgment not be skewed if an insider is accused? That sort of disclosure totally messes with peoples' sense of reality. Even really sharp people will probably make stupid decisions in that scenario if left to figure it out on their own.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze You can't wait until an accusation is made to develop policies and procedures about how to respond to an accusation beyond filing an initial report. There are already traumatized victims & there families involved that are going to be understandably retraumatized at any misstep.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze There are potentially other victims who have not felt safe enough to disclose yet who are going to be watching what is happening to see if it's now safe to report.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze What's the point of being in a denomination if the denominational leadership isn't providing higher standards on these issues? No evang. denom wld be this slack on right doctrine. Why are they this sloppy in defining parameters for right practice in high stakes areas?

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @StewartRuch @ladyjessicahaze @scotmcknight , I hope that you and your crew get to drive this bus for the whole denomination going forward. Your work gives me hope. I hope the rest of ACNA agrees.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO Just off the top of my head, I'm guessing that substantial whistleblower protection in any diocese is going to be difficult to promise or execute. Anyone that someone needs to report about has a good chance of being too enmeshed in the web of power to avoid conflicts of interest

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO If I were a potential whistleblower, I would want to report to a reputable third party org that the denomination keeps on retainer. Something like a @netgrace_org if they offered that sort of service.

@scotmcknight @BpToddHunter @The_ACNA @C4SO @netgrace_org Barring that, I would want my report to go straight to @R_Denhollander's email and maybe light up whatever the @R_Denhollander equivalent of the bat signal is into the night sky.