The Two by Twos is a home-based fundamentalist Christian church. Photo / NZME
The Two by Twos church is facing further scrutiny after publishing a series of advice documents on sexual abuse described as “woefully lacking in accountability” and more sympathetic to perpetrators than victims.
Critics argue the resources weren’t presented in a way that would protect any victim of trauma from being re-triggered or re-harmed.
The church recently circulated electronic documents to all members containing advice for survivors and perpetrators of sexual abuse. The documents have also been published on the church’s website.
A former member of the church said they were appalled the information was distributed to all members at once, meaning victims were forced to read guidance directed at abusers.
“I was so angry,” the former member said.
“Comparing the perpetrator and survivor pages, I noticed two things – the survivor pages do not use the word health or healing once, yet the perpetrator pages do.
“And the perpetrator pages are far more wordy than the survivor pages. It shows the bias loud and clear.”
The Two by Twos is a home-based fundamentalist Christian church.
Founded in 1897 by Scotsman William Irvine, the church has no official name or buildings and is not registered as a charity.
Its members meet at private homes to worship on Sundays and gather at community halls for gospel sessions led by “workers” – pairs of preachers – several times a week.
The church is thought to have several thousand members in New Zealand.
Last year, the FBI launched a global investigation into the church, described by some as a cult, after several former members made allegations of sexual abuse.
In February, New Zealand police became involved, and members here who had contacted the FBI received an email from the national adult sexual assault team.
Police have since confirmed a number of new criminal investigations are in progress as a result of that contact.
It is understood the documents emailed last week to the congregation were prepared by a counsellor who is a member of the church.
According to the counsellor’s professional information, they have specialist training in working with couples, managing addiction and grief.
Further information appears on the church website under the heading “supporting those impacted by abuse”.
Users can select one of two tabs: “support for those who have been harmed” or “pathways for those who have harmed”.
“I am absolutely astounded… there appears to be no trauma-informed input,” said the former member.
“They just have no idea.”
The Government’s chief victims adviser, Ruth Money, said the documents looked like a “good try” but needed more work.
“On the face of it, while it looks like at least they are attempting, it is not balanced, trauma-informed or specialist,” she said.
“And it misses child sexual abuse altogether.”
Trauma-informed means recognising that people who have experienced trauma, such as sexual abuse, may react differently to services, systems, or language. The objective of a trauma-informed approach is to avoid re-triggering or re-harming someone, instead promoting safety, trust and empowerment.
One of the support agencies listed for victims on the documents is the specialist sexual abuse support service Help.
Executive director and clinical psychologist Kathryn McPhillips was sent the PDFs by the Herald.
“I would want to acknowledge that the organisation seems like it is trying hard to do better,” she said.
“But I can understand the concerns voiced… and it might have been helpful if the organisation had run the material by an advisory group of survivors first to make some of the adjustments which could have avoided causing further harm to survivors.
“The area most concerning to me is the lack of messaging to those who have caused harm about taking responsibility for having done so.
“The messages seem to be about their healing and relieving them of their ‘heavy burden’ with no acknowledgement of the pain and burdens they have caused for others. There is a lack of messaging that stepping up and taking accountability and making amends is what can relieve that ‘heavy burden’ and repair relationships.”
“Some people do avoid these messages as they think that it will discourage people who have caused harm from stepping forward to seek help, and that might be the case for some. But there are also people for whom the invitation to take responsibility will ring true as a pathway out of that burden and any shame that they are feeling.”
Following the guidance sent to members, the church also distributed its new child safety code of conduct for gospel workers.
Workers, also known as preachers or ministers, travel in pairs around New Zealand and live in the homes of church members.
The former member said the code was “woefully lacking in accountability”.
One paragraph in particular stuck out, where the word “indulge” was used to describe “sexual contact with children”.
“This is mostly good – it is very direct, which is what is required," said McPhillips.
“The next step, towards being great, would be to give guidance on what a person was to do if they had thoughts that were against this code, and what to do if they saw others violating this code.”
The church is still working on its child safety policy and “reporting procedures”.
The Herald contacted New Zealand’s overseer of the church Wayne Dean for comment on the documents and the code of conduct, and the criticism and concerns around the material.
He was also asked who authored the documents and what input or advice was sought, if any, from specialists or experts on sexual abuse and child sexual abuse.
“We know there will always be varied opinions and views but what is important is that professionals and independent experts, who are specialists in the field of child abuse prevention, have reviewed our child safe documentation,” he said.
“We have received their endorsement that our child safe policies/procedures etc align with best practice as well as meet all legislative requirements.
“We will provide no further comment.”
The documents were discussed by the church on its website.
“An updated child safe policy and code of conduct along with a reporting procedure have been externally reviewed. A copy of the code of conduct is provided below, and the child safe policy and reporting procedure will be available shortly once finalised,” the site said.
“All NZ workers have signed the updated code of conduct and completed MinistrySafe child safety training, which includes an assessment to ensure course content was understood. Police checks have also been completed for all NZ Workers.
“Further work is under way relating to the management/handling of allegations and this information will be added here in due course.”
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 19 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz