About the Guest:

Jenni Woodhouse is the Pastoral Care Coordinator for the Church Missionary Society of New South Wales and ACT. She previously held the position of Chaplain for the Sydney Anglican Church's Professional Standards Unit, where she played a crucial role in supporting and documenting complaints of abuse. With extensive experience in addressing sensitive and difficult situations, Jenny has dedicated her career to walking alongside survivors of abuse and helping them navigate the complaint procedures within church institutions. Her work has contributed significantly to raising awareness and improving responses to child sexual abuse in religious settings.

Key Takeaways:

• Child sexual abuse in churches often involves significant grooming by the perpetrator, who gains trust from church leaders and parents before targeting children.
• Statistically, child sexual abuse is not more prevalent in churches than in other parts of society, but the religious context can add layers of guilt and shame for survivors.
• There is a long delay, often 25 years, before many survivors come forward due to shame, fear, and confusion about their experiences.
• Safe ministry training and working with children checks are essential practices in churches to prevent and detect abuse but need further reinforcement and community watchfulness.
• Congregations are encouraged to be observant and report any concerns to help protect the community's children.

Notable Quotes:

• "It takes on average about 25 years for someone to speak up about child sexual assault." – Jenny Woodhouse
• "Most the men who are sexually abused children who are extra familial abusers are not usually opportunistic; they are deliberately targeting institutions like churches." – Jenny Woodhouse
• "It's about educating the pew sitters in the churches who may not think they have anything to say or anything to see, but the people sitting in the pews can see things that are suspicious." – Jenny Woodhouse
• "Human beings, may I say, are really overrated. We just do things to each other so much of the time." – Jenny Woodhouse
• "Expect a beautiful, happy life and world, but we’re going to be bitterly disappointed." – Jenny Woodhouse

Click here to contact Janet & Amelia or ask them a question or click here to contact the She Wasn't Born Yesterday team!

She Wasn’t Born Yesterday, hosted by Janet Evans, a senior advertising creative and Dr Amelia Haines, a sexual and relationship therapist, who have written Australia’s first book on empty nest syndrome called Empty Next.

Visit Empty Nest Chicks for more resources, click here for their book, or join the discussion on Facebook.

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