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Women in the CofE risk being 'gas-lit' if they complain, says vicar

by Donna Birrell

Women in the Church of England ‘risk being gaslit’ if they complain, according to the Chair of the organisation Women and the Church (WATCH).

Rev Martine Oborne was speaking to Premier after the Bishop of Warrington called for the Church of England to take an "honest" look at its processes in the wake of the Bishop of Liverpool’s resignation.

Rt Rev Beverly Mason was placed on study leave 18 months ago after complaining about alleged inappropriate behaviour by Rt Rev Dr John Perumbalath, while he continued in his role. 

Rt Rev Mason was one of two women who had accused him of sexual misconduct. Bishop Perumbalath has consistently denied the allegations.

He stood down yesterday shortly after Channel 4 News reported the allegations against him. In a letter to his diocese, he wrote that "trial by media" had made his "position untenable".

Rev Oborne told Premier:

“It is very disappointing and actually troubling to hear these reports. Why are people going to the press with these stories? It’s clear that there is something wrong with our processes and the culture that people who are claiming to be victims of abuse and harassment are feeling so upset and frustrated with how they're being heard, that they feel they've got no recourse but to go to the press.”

In an open letter to the Diocese of Liverpool in which she explained she was one of the complainants, Bishop Mason said she had found the last few months of having to stay silent about the situation "excruciating".

Rev Oborne said: “I honestly don't understand what has happened there. Why was she kept silent? Why was she on this study leave for 18 months, and during which time, the senior bishop remained in post with nothing being done? And how much longer was that going to go on for if all these revelations hadn't come out?  I genuinely can't understand what an earth was going on there, but it seems incredibly inadequate and wrong.”

Bishop Mason had filed a complaint against Bishop Perumbalath under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM) but this wasn’t processed because it was deemed to have been made after the rule’s 12-month limit.

Rev Oborne is among clergy who want to see this overturned:

“That's obviously something that should be changed immediately," she said. "It's completely inadequate to have a 12-month limit for bringing a complaint of misconduct, especially for something that is sexual harassment of a woman, because, as we all know, it often takes a very long time for women to process the shame, quite unjustified shame, that they feel when they experience these incidents. So it can take a long time for people to find the courage to come forward and report something like that.”

As Chair of WATCH, Rev Oborne agrees that the Church needs to overhaul its culture and processes, especially for women who come forward with complaints:

“We're not vulnerable in the sense that children and some adults are, we do have the capacity to report assaults and misconduct, but that's not happening," she said. 

"It is very difficult, with a very deferential culture which really puts pressure on women to keep quiet. They risk marginalization and even being gas-lit if they report things. They’re told they’re troublesome or making a fuss.

“60 per cent of misconduct cases get dismissed, and so there's a lot of risk too to pursuing a case, and there's a real culture of just putting up with things.

“It’s not helped by the fact that in the Church of England, a certain amount of discrimination against women is condoned, and so this all feeds into a culture that makes it very difficult for women to report abuse.”

Calling for more transparency as well as a change of culture, Rev Oborne is also advocating appointing a lead Bishop for Justice for Women who would be “a confident and courageous voice to speak out on behalf of women and to monitor these situations, and also to have a voice for women more generally".

“When we’re trying to tackle abuse and violence against women and girls in our world, we have to model good practice in our church," she said. 

Premier has contacted the Church of England for a response.

 

 

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