NOM

State Law says that clergy are mandatory reporters, but the lawyers who man the hotline tell them not to.
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/local/2 ... s-lawyers/

These lawyer then are able to get out of consequences of giving bad info with church pressure.
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2019/07 ... smiss-bar/

The reason the Church is such a dumpster fire when it comes to handling cases of sexual abuse is because it puts its own desire to protect itself before the needs of the victim. They can argue until they are blue in the face about why legally it is Ok for its lawyers to tell required reporters they don’t need to report to law enforcement, but the fact of the matter is that if they were as concerned about victims as they ought to be then none of this would be happening. Because the Church puts its needs above those of the members, in situations like this it is going to be a train wreck.

Not Buying It wrote: ↑Tue Jul 09, 2019 5:25 am Because the Church puts its needs above those of the members, in situations like this it is going to be a train wreck.

Bring it on.

Although I disagree with the bishop deciding not to report, that was what the victim apparently desired. Now, I am going to argue from a victim perspective as if I am still the kid who decided not to report myself. Then I will argue the OTHER side of this.

This was in family sexual abuse. So, most often the perp is the father and the other parent is .......well, it is still kind of hard to say what the blank was wrong with my mother and somehow putting it into clinical terms misses the emotional point. The emotional point is that one parent is abusive and the other puts her own self interest above the child. So the child’s welfare is betrayed by both parents. And that was the case in this instance if the swear word of a mother really signed a piece of paper asking the bishop not to report. The mother is incompetent, selfish, and helpless. The mother sets up what is called role reversal, so she is effectively a child in the family and the sexual abuse victim is Putin the role of “the most responsible” party in the whole family. So, if daddy goes to prison, the whole family blames her. She knows damned well who has been put in the role of “protect the family by being abused and not complaining.” Her mother values the bread winner more than the child and the child KNOWS this.

Besides, the mother is kind of incapable of loving her children. But “daddy” now, he usually dotes on the child victim. He likes her better than the other children. The only “love” this child knows is from the abuser. She does not want to send the only person who has ever shown her love off to prison, send the family into poverty (remember mom is a helpless twit and probably incapable of supporting the family financially) She just wants the abuse to stop. So, she reaches out to an authority figure that she hopes can make her father stop, without sending him to prison. The bishop!

Now, **sick** statistic for you. Victims who keep their mouth shut end up less damaged than those who report. Yup, read that statement again. Let me reverse it for you. Victims who report and go through the criminal justice system are usually more harmed. The reporting, having her family turn on her, ending up in foster care, having to tell what happened over and over, is more damaging than putting up with the abuse until she is old enough to live on her own. The state, in its efforts to protect the victim inflicts more damage on an already vulnerable child.

Other side of the argument.

If reporting is done when the victim first tells, who ever he/she tells acts to protect her/him and the criminal justice system doesn’t fail, if her mother can support her emotionally, if her siblings don’t blame her, if her mother divorces the abuser, If she is gotten into professional help before all heck breaks out and stays in counseling. But that is a lot of “Ifs”

Most don’t have that kind of support. Conviction rates are still not great. Most families don’t keep the victim in counseling past court ordered and most courts don’t order it.

What society needs is more reporting, then better protections for the child victim. We can’t accomplish that by not reporting.

Victims who tell, then are not helped either because they are not believed or because of some other stupid reason, like the bishop thinking it should be kept confidential, are probably the most damaged.

I almost can’t believe this is true. Has anyone heard anything else about it?

https://kutv.com/news/local/lds-church- ... gbIDsyWPF4

I jut saw that this morning. I would love for Matt from IOT to offer his opinion. This just smacks as grooming behavior.

According to the Article, this is still in the "Survey" phase. I wonder if they are basically throwing it out there to see what reaction they get. If they get too much push back then they have the option to can the idea before it becomes a major firestorm.

crazyhamster wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2019 2:02 am I almost can’t believe this is true. Has anyone heard anything else about it?

https://kutv.com/news/local/lds-church- ... gbIDsyWPF4

Yep. I think they have to be stupid, idiots, or totally clueless to be considering this in the emotional climate that currently exists.