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	Survey Looks at Abuse, Clergy By Trent Goldston The Lariat September 9, 2009 http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=60982 Baylor University's School of Social Work recently completed the largest national survey ever in order to to look into clergy sexual misconduct with adults. Dr. Diana Garland, Dean of the School of Social Work, spearheaded the project. "We expect shepherds to take care of the sheep," Garland said. "We found that more than three out of 100 women who are active in a congregation have experienced a sexual overture from a religious leader sometime during her adult life." According to Garland, the sample also includes men and is not limited to either gender. "I can't think of a university other than Baylor that ought to be doing this research," Garland said. "We are interested in determining how often clergy sexual misconduct takes place in congregations so that we can understand it, so that we can prevent it." The survey was included within the General Social Survey, which was established in 1972 and is only second to the U.S. Census in the field of social sciences. The survey was administered nationwide to a random sample of 3,500 American adults. Participants were asked if, after turning 18, they had ever encountered sexually advances from a religious leader. "The average American goes to a congregation of 400," Garland said. "In that congregation 60 percent are women. So on average, there are seven women in every congregation, if this were spread across the country. It gives a sense of the size of the problem." Garland has also been working with survivors and their families, as well as offenders, in hopes of developing more insight into possible prevention techniques and strategies. According to Garland, these issues are not limited to Christian congregations. "One of the survivors in fact, that has a clip on our Web site, is Jewish and as a consequence of the abuse she experienced from a Rabbi, switched to a conservative Jewish denomination, where they separate men from women, as a way to feel safe," said Garland. The insight gained from this survey will go hand in hand with the interviews to develop a curriculum and code of ethics for Christian congregations, groups and communities. "It's one of those huge under-the-table issues," said Jill Scoggins, assistant vice president of media communications for Baylor University. "The code of ethics and policies certainly protect congregants, but they will also protect the religious leader as well." The more that is learned about the problem, the more it can be understood, Garland said. "It can be emotionally and spiritually coercive, even if it's not physically coercive," said Garland. "This is about abuse of power, it's not just about sexuality. So it's not just a private matter. When leaders abuse their power, that becomes a community matter." According to Vicki Kabat, the media relations coordinator for the School of Social Work, the code of ethics is available now, and the curriculum should be completed very soon. "I expect this to be available by spring, if not sooner," Kabat said. Kabat said that the curriculum will be available free for anyone interested from both the School of Social work and also the Center for Family and Community Ministries. The curriculum is an effort to educate people on the issue and combat it, Garland said. "It's about recognizing that our leaders are human," Garland said. "If we have policies in place about what's expected and what's not expected, everybody has a better understanding." Engaging students in research is a big part of Baylor said Scoggins. "This is exactly the kind of research that Baylor should be doing," said Scoggins, "This is who we are and why we exist."
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