Citation

Guerzoni MA. Child Abuse Negl. 2018; 77: 85-98.

Affiliation

School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania, Room 517, Social Sciences Building, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005, Australia. Electronic address: M.A.Guerzoni@utas.edu.au.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.12.016

PMID

29324273

Abstract

To date, a predominant focus within the field of 'clerical collar crime' has revolved around institutional-level church responses to child sexual abuse events, survivors and offenders. Comparatively, little attention has been directed towards the micro-level and in particular, examining clerical responses to child sexual abuse. This article presents empirical findings concerning the 'everyday' child protective practices of Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Research data was acquired through open-ended qualitative interviews conducted with a sample of 34 clergy in a broader study of clerical culture, habitus and life amidst the 'church abuse crisis'. The framework of Situational Crime Prevention is employed to evaluate the feasibility of clergy's child-safe practices and comment on how these practices could be further altered through professional development. Research findings demonstrate that clergy possess an active awareness of risk, and execute a series of protective measures to minimise both sexual interactions with children and allegations of impropriety.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Anglican church; Child protection; Child sexual abuse; Church abuse; Situational crime prevention