The Abwe and Donn Ketcham Investigation

Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
May 12, 2016

http://www.abwe.org/protecting-our-children/

[Read the Letter from ABWE’s Interim President]

[Read the ABWE Child Protection Policy]

[Read the Media Statement]

[READ THE COMPREHENSIVE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY REPORT]

[Request the Full 280-page Report (victims identities omitted)]

In 2013, ABWE commissioned Professional Investigators International (Pii) to perform an independent and thorough investigation into multiple instances of child abuse occurring on the mission field between 1966 and 1989.

The investigation, which concluded in April 2016, confirmed that Donn Ketcham, an ABWE missionary doctor who served in Bangladesh, engaged in the sexual abuse of nearly 20 minors — most of whom were the children of fellow ABWE missionaries — and 4 adult women. The abuse primarily consisted of improper and medically unnecessary examinations at the hospital in Bangladesh, and included sexual assault and apparent drugging.

Additionally, the report found that while fellow missionaries observed Ketcham’s general inappropriate and sexual behavior toward adult women, and in some cases alerted ABWE leadership, there was a lack of leadership oversight and accountability to generate any true behavioral changes or uncover the true extent of Ketcham’s misconduct. After more victims emerged and sought help from ABWE leadership, the report found that those leaders had made little-or-no attempts to discover and reveal the full extent of Ketcham’s abuse, examine the mission’s response to the situation, and appropriately care for the women, over an extended period of time.

The ABWE leadership and Board of Directors during the time of Donn Ketcham’s misconduct have all been replaced. But in light of these findings, the current ABWE Board is issuing further consequences against the ABWE leaders who either allowed Donn Ketcham’s behavior or who failed to investigate appropriately when it came to their attention.

Additionally, ABWE has adopted a new comprehensive and stringent Child Protection Policy, developed in consultation with the Child Welfare League of America, and is implementing new checks and balances within the organization to ensure the policy is known and followed. We are also initiating extensive mission-wide training programs to ensure people understand and recognize inappropriate behavior and know how to report it swiftly and safely, and that as an organization we are creating administrative processes to quickly and thoroughly respond to all reports.

The ABWE Board has also adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual abuse and has committed to a culture of transparency and accountability related to child protection matters, with an emphasis on caring for victims and their families.