[ad_1]
Topeka — Joe Shelley knows all too well that clergy are not required to report child abuse.
She remembers going to a priest for help as a child when she was being sexually abused. Cherai says she hasn’t done anything.
“If I had known at the time that clergy were not required to be abuse reporters, I would have just gone to law enforcement and the Department of Children and Families. I wouldn’t have said anything to the church.” Cherai said.
Cherai, who joins other child sex abuse survivors at the entrance to Parliament House every week, urges ministers and clergy to report cases like hers.
“If I had known at the time that clergy were not required to be abuse reporters, I would have just gone to law enforcement and the Department of Children and Families. I wouldn’t have said anything to the church.” Cherai said.
Earlier this month, Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and senior pastor of First Congregational Church, said: House Bill 2300, The move would add religious ministers to the list of required reporters, with exceptions for communications such as confessions.
“People are wondering why that isn’t already the case, and frankly, as a pastor, I agree,” Schlingensiepen said.
The bill has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, with no hearing scheduled.
DCF estimates that if the bill goes into effect, there will be an increase in reports to the Kansas Custody Reporting Center, which oversees abuse reports. This change could result in an increase in expenditures from the state general fund of $74,569 for additional staff positions to address the workload.
Four previous attempts to add clergy to the list of mandated reporters failed in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said: led the charge During the last legislative session after a four-year investigation into Catholic clergy abuse by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation was announced. A KBI report found that at least 188 church members were suspected of committing crimes ranging from child molestation to rape.
Schlingensiepen said he is not very optimistic that the bill will be implemented this Congress because lawmakers are concerned with other issues, such as a flat tax.a Republican-led nullification effort Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto earlier this week failed to pass a flat 5.25% income tax rate.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re willing to do anything more, but that said, I’m hoping they’ll be back again next session. We’ll try it again, this time with multiple sponsors on each side.”Aisle ,” Schlingensiepen said. “We already have very broad support.”
For now, Cherai will continue to advocate for broader protections for victims of sexual assault.
“I’m doing this for the child inside me that I didn’t know anything about,” Cherai said. “And I will do this for all other survivors and victims, now and in the future, to provide another point of protection where they can get help.
[ad_2]
Source link
