Petition protesting insufficient investigation of sexual abuse & mishandling allegations gains over 150 signatories in 24 hours
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 7, 2022
Abuse advocacy volunteers say provincial leaders in the Anglican Church of North America are self-protecting the organization over prioritizing survivors in investigation.
Wheaton, IL: Sexual abuse advocacy group ACNAtoo released yesterday an online petition that has since generated over 150 signatures in under 24 hours protesting the handling of sexual abuse allegations within the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA).
This petition was launched in support of abuse survivor Joanna Rudenborg’s public letter of response to the religious denomination’s e-mail invitation for sexual abuse survivors of Mark Rivera to vote between two pre-selected investigative firms to investigate the mishandling of their allegations by ACNA leadership.
“The ACNA has offered survivors a choice between two law firms without any additional details regarding contract parameters,” says Conor Hanson, ACNAtoo advocate. “It seems clear that both firms are committed to serving and prioritizing the needs of the client (i.e the Province), not survivors.”
“The Province took over this investigation after I publicized how poorly the Diocese of the Upper Midwest handled the first investigation,” says Joanna Rudenborg, founding member at ACNAtoo. “Now the Province is doing exactly what the Diocese did: paying lip service to honoring survivors while declining to commit to following the most basic standards involved in a legitimate investigation.”
This petition is the latest in a series of accountability and watchdog efforts from advocates seeking accountability within the Anglican Church in North America for their leadership’s mishandling of sexual and spiritual abuse reporting within their denomination. ACNAtoo formed in June of 2021 when Joanna Rudenborg took to Twitter and alleged her experience of being raped twice by ACNA catechist Mark Rivera, and the subsequent mishandling of her allegations by the regional leadership in the Upper Midwest Diocese. Since going public, provincial leadership took control over the investigation with the intent to succeed where regional leadership failed to honor survivor’s requests for a trauma informed investigation.
“The Province had numerous opportunities to choose to keep their process open to accountability for truth and justice,” says Audrey Luhmann, ACNAtoo advocate. “This is incredibly disappointing. It feels like a repeat of what already took place within the Diocese of the Upper Midwest.”
ACNAtoo’s mission is:
Advocacy for survivors of abuse in the ACNA
Education and resources for survivors and those who care for them
Accountability for key leaders within the ACNA to hold survivor-centered policies.
Since July 2021, ACNAtoo has published 7 survivor stories and 34 educational resources. Over 72,000 unique visitors have viewed these publications on the ACNAtoo website.
About ACNAtoo: As a survivor-centric advocacy group, ACNAtoo’s mission is Advocacy for survivors of abuse in the ACNA, Accountability for key leaders within the ACNA to hold survivor-centered policies, and Education about the dynamics of spiritual/sexual abuse, and how to best prevent/respond to abuse in the church. ACNAtoo began as an advocacy group for survivors in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest, but they exist to support people in all dioceses of the ACNA.