AUSTRALIA
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
October 22, 2018
A year ago, several women walked into the annual Synod of the Sydney Anglican Diocese, shuffled through the rows of the public gallery in Pitt Street’s Wesley Theatre, and sat down nervously.
All of them were victims of domestic abuse, there to listen as the Diocese’s domestic violence taskforce presented its draft policy for responding to abuse in the church which, as ABC News would only weeks later reveal, was being perpetrated not just against parishioners, but against the wives of clergy — including me.
It’s been quite a year.
Last week, several hundred Sydney Anglicans returned to the same spot for the taskforce’s unveiling of the final version of the policy, having spent months consulting with experts and survivors.
I had been looking forward to seeing the finished product, and was hopeful it would reflect the voices of victims who’d shared their disturbing experiences of abuse by church workers, and desires to see leaders respond better.
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