Reining in abuse -

� The anti-abuse guidelinesrepresent a well-intentioned yet sporadically flawed attempt to addressa problem that had once been neglected entirely.

� The system,according to critics, suffers from an institutional fear of lawsuitsand excessive secrecy - both byproducts of an ethical quandary faced bydecision-makers. They must balance an individual's right to privacyagainst the obligation to protect the public from a potential sexualpredator.

� A symbol of that ethical push-pull is the AwarenessCenter, a private, 5-year-old Baltimore-based Jewish organization thatis devoted to protecting the public from abusers. The center has beenboth criticized and praised for its policy of identifying rabbis andother sexual predators on its website, whether or not they have beentried in court.

� Perhaps the most serious impediment tocontrolling clergy abuse is what Chicago psychologist and psychoanalystVivian Skolnick calls "the plague of silence" - the continuingreluctance of victims to report transgressions.

Like most of the observerscontributing to the JTA analysis, anti-abuse activist and author DrorahSetel, a rabbi at a Reform congregation in Niagara Falls, N.Y., laudedthe denominational rule-makers for taking steps to undo decades ofinaction and denial - but she faulted their specific policies.

Thenotion of image-conscious, liability-minded, and often male-dominatedrabbinic ethics boards policing their own members, she says, is like"the fox guarding the henhouse."

Secrecy vs. privacy

AlthoughJudaism's get-tough policies may have their flaws, conclusive proof oftheir effectiveness - or ineffectiveness - is elusive. One reason isthat the pool of sex abuse complaints processed by ethics panels overthe past several years is minuscule.

It is an open question,however, whether the low volume of cases indicates that the problem ofsexual misdeeds among rabbis and other Jewish clergy is minimal, assome claim, or is simply underreported, as Skolnick and several otherscontend.

In addition, the administrative proceedings aimed atmeting out justice are typically cloaked in what critics call excessivesecrecy and advocates of the system maintain is an environment ofprudent and compassionate privacy. The denominational hearings aregenerally closed to the public, and in some cases, public access to theresults of those hearings is severely limited.

Proponents ofthis approach say it is warranted to avoid unnecessarily tainting thereputation of the accused while sparing the accuser additional shame,embarrassment and fear.

That fear is not always illusory.Victims are indeed sometimes shunned and even harassed by fellowcongregants. Consequently, other victims fail to report transgressions.

Despiteencouraging inroads in the area of reporting sexual abuse, thereticence of victims to come forward continues to be a major problemacross all denominations. However, anecdotal evidence suggests thatunder-reporting may be more prevalent in the fervently Orthodoxcommunity - the type of neighborhood where denial runs rampantregarding sexual misconduct by clergy, according to Framowitz.

Thedenominational policies examined by JTA, which were developed by boththe congregational and rabbinic wings of the major religious movements,have several similarities. For example, they address a vast range ofprohibited deeds, from criminal acts such as rape and child molestationto sexually charged conduct that is exploitive but not necessarilycriminal. That includes sexual harassment, adultery and other forms of"seductive" or coercive behavior that are grouped under the broadheading of "boundary violations."

Most of the denominationalguidelines recognize that the inherent power imbalance betweenclergyman and congregant makes otherwise consensual sexual contactunacceptable.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RBA), aprimarily modern-Orthodox organization, specifies that whoeverinitially assesses complaints not be a member of the RCA, that theorganization's fact-finding team include one mental healthprofessional, and that all members of that team "have appropriatetraining in the area of sexual abuse."

The Central Conference ofAmerian Rabbis (reform) guidelines, meanwhile, require that itsthree-member fact-gathering team include a lay person in addition totwo rabbis.

Limiting mobility

Another key provision ofthe denominational codes focuses on an issue that gained prominenceduring the child-molestation scandal in the Catholic Church. That is,the problem of sexual predators who escape apprehension by relocatingto another institution or community where they repeat their conduct.

Inthe case of the church, pedophile priests were aided by superiors whoroutinely shuttled them from one parish to another where theycontinually had access to children.

"This is an area of greatconcern in the Jewish community as well," said Alison Iser, director ofThe Jewish Program at the FaithTrust Institute, a Seattle-basednonprofit devoted to combating sexual and domestic violence. "TheJewish community has viewed with disdain that sort of behaviorelsewhere, and as a result, has felt a sort of smugness that it was nothappening here."

Whether segments of the Jewish community do in fact have a "Catholic-priest problem" is debatable.

Declaringthat "confidentiality is crucial," the Reconstructionist RabbinicalAssociation guidelines of 1999 - which are now being revised - say thechair of the association's Ethics Committee may only disclose that amember is under investigation, the investigation "has been resolved butis confidential," or that the member has been suspended or expelled."No other details are to be revealed."

News of a rabbi'sexpulsion from the RCA, the modern Orthodox organization, must bedisseminated throughout the RCA, and the rabbi's current employer mustalso be notified. Beyond that, though, RCA officials shall determine"who else, if anyone," is to be informed that such an action took place.

TheCCAR, the Reform rabbinic arm, mandates that a prospective employer beprovided with a fairly detailed report of disciplinary action takenagainst a CCAR member. But "after an extended period of time," a singlenon-criminal infraction doesn't have to be reported at all.

Theproper role of transparency in the adjudicative process is acontroversial topic, highlighting the tension between maintaining thepublic's right to know and enabling an individual to keep his or herreputation intact - especially in the absence of criminal charges orcivil allegations.

"If you act on a false accusation, you'rekilling a guy and his family; the responsibility is awesome," saidRabbi Abraham Twerski, medical director emeritus of the GatewayRehabilitation Center in Pittsburgh. "Plus, you can be sued fordefamation of character. And, boy, does that ever hamper the system."

Somevictims' advocates are transparency absolutists, insisting on fulldisclosure of virtually all details of sex-abuse cases involvingreligious authority figures that have been ruled on by denominationalethics panels. They feel that such information should be released notonly to prospective employers, but to the public at large to protectthe maximum number of people.

Due in part to concerns over civilliability, the RCA generally limits the public release of detailsregarding sex-abuse cases, even those that have resulted in a rabbi'sexpulsion from the organization, said Rabbi Basil Herring, RCA'sexecutive vice president.

The RCA guidelines, however, do havean emergency clause that recommends informing a wide range ofindividuals, including neighbors and civil authorities, if a rabbimight pose an immediate danger to "alleged or potential victims."

Sourceswithin the other movements said that regardless of official policy, anexpansive disclosure stance would likely apply in similar circumstances.

Duein part to extensive First Amendment protections enjoyed by religiousorganizations, the keepers of clergy personnel records have "lots ofleeway" in terms of what information they can release without beingsuccessfully sued, said Minneapolis psychologist Gary Schoener.

Theprospective employer should know both the good and the bad," he said."There should be an accurate description of the full person, includinghis recovery plan and how it is being monitored. "The idea is to knowexactly what kind of situation we're dealing with."

The FAQyMe Gene Archive: A Depository of Historic Child Sexual Abuse Data

Reining in abuse