CANCELED:Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse Training

May 4 2021 - 8:30am to 12:00pm
Event Location: 
Virtual - Zoom Webinar

The primary goal of the Clergy and Faith Leader Abuse initiative is to provide victims and survivors with an independent and thorough review of the sexual abuse committed by clergy and faith leaders in Wisconsin. Additionally, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) will provide victims and survivors with a safe and confidential means to report abuse and obtain support from the Office of Crime Victim Services. It is anticipated that during this initiative, OCVS will be referring survivors of clergy and faith leader abuse to victim service agencies in their communities for direct services and resources.

 

To ensure that those who will be working with these victims and survivors feel prepared and understand the unique dynamics of these victims and survivors, OCVS will be hosting two half-day trainings on clergy and faith leader abuse. Our target audience is victim service providers and victim witness professionals who may work directly with clergy abuse and faith leader survivors, but prosecutors and law enforcement officers who will be working on this initiative will also be invited to the training.

 

The two trainings will cover different material, however, the same Zoom link will work for both. The trainings will be recorded and available for viewing at a later time. Due to the nature and the complex trauma involved with this type of crime, and the fact that OCVS will be referring survivors to victim service providers throughout the state, we encourage all OCVS-funded agencies attend these trainings.    

 

 

 

Day One: Tuesday, May 4, 2020- 8:30 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.

          Topics will include:

  • An overview of the Attorney General’s initiative
  • A discussion of the experience and trauma suffered by clergy abuse victims and survivors, unique to this type of abuse
  • A panel discussion by survivors
  • The response of the Catholic Church to survivors of sexual abuse and its impact on survivors

Day Two: Tuesday, May 11, 2020- 1:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m.

          Topics will include:

  • An overview of the Catholic Church organizational structure, highlighing pertinent information about the church’s response to sexual abuse by clergy
  • Information and discussion about supporting survivors of abuse
  • Addressing questions submitted in advance of the training and frequently asked questions
  • Discussing common situations that present themselves when working with survivors and how to respond to them, including issues that have arisen in the first two weeks of the initiative

To learn more about the initiative, visit https://supportsurvivors.widoj.gov/