Cape Town – “It’s okay to speak out against gender-based violence, unless the perpetrator is a bishop,” said the Reverend June Dolley-Major.
Dolley-Major stood on the steps of St George’s Cathedral on Friday, to publicly name her alleged rapist, a fellow priest in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA). The alleged rape occurred in 2002 at the Grahamstown Seminary.
Her announcement came after several delays, according to Dolley-Major, by the church’s Safe and Inclusive Church Commission (Safe Church), which is investigating the incident.
The internal investigation conducted by Safe Church is according to canon (church) law and results in a tribunal.
“On February 15, it was supposed to have been the date when I could canonical have gone public with the name of my perpetrator, but again the church had postponed that date.”
On the Safe Church’s processes, she said, “It’s not been a safe space for me. It’s again the whole thing that you need to protect the name of the ACSA, and that comes through very clearly. And that’s just bullying tactics, and that’s what I’ve endured for the past 18 years, when they throw the status of the bishop in my face. It’s not a safe space for me. It’s not victim-centred at all.”
The day held special significance, as it was on March 12 when the first group of women was ordained in the Anglican Church in England in 1994.
At St George’s Cathedral, Dolley-Major was ordained as a deacon and priest.
“I chose the cathedral because this is where I was ordained, not realising it was for a time like this that God was using me to expose paedophilia within the ACSA, to expose rape and abuse covered up for decades.”
She believes there are others who have been violated by her perpetrator. She has urged them to come forward.
Dolley-Major was joined in front of the cathedral by members of the women’s movement, One Billion Rising SA, holding placards in support.
One Billion Rising SA co-ordinator and Philisa Abafazi Bethu and director Lucinda Evans, said: “We cannot have institutions protect perpetrators.
“We cannot let institutions dictate because as a woman, if you’re raped, you are sentenced for life. So, Reverend June is already walking a lifetime with a sentence as a victim of rape. She is not a survivor because she didn't get the justice that is due to her. She remains a victim.
“This fight will not stop until we get justice, until the named perpetrator is expelled and kicked out of the Anglican Church, so that he is not there to do what he has done to Reverend June.”
Cape Argus