Beginning when I was 9 years old, I had an older brother that repeatedly tried to coerce me into playing sexual games with my 7 year old sister. I was too young to understand what was happening then, but many years later I learned that he had begun raping her. When I wouldn’t go as far as he wanted me to, he turned to his friends and coerced them to rape her while he watched. He and his friends continued this for six years of her childhood.
Not only did bishop interviews throughout my youth re-traumatize me every time they vilified sexual thoughts or grilled me about masturbation, but that man, my older brother that repeatedly raped his own little sister, went on to become a bishop himself. A man with a history of raping children. Now in a position of absolute authority to interview youth behind closed doors.
In April of 2014, after years of therapy, I reported him to the church through my local bishop. My own mother, HIS own mother, helped me draft a statement containing all the information that we knew up to that point. My bishop called the church hotline and they responded stating that they would “pursue it.” In fact, they did nothing. I had worked full-time for the church for several years, was a BYU graduate, and had honorably served a 2 year mission. But even with my past devotion to the church, they would not consider what I had to say. And so, my older brother has remained a bishop to this day.
Thinking of him being one-on-one with any child makes me want to vomit. Bishop interviews need to stop.