Child safeguarding policies and minor attraction

How should organizational safeguarding policies deal with disclosures of minor attraction, either by adults supervising minors or by teenagers who are among those supervised?

In July 2020 the pastor of a large church, Menlo Church, resigned after it was revealed that a youth work volunteer—who also happened to be his son—had admitted being sexually attracted to minors, and that this was withheld from the congregation. Although the facts of this case were unique, they have raised broader questions about institutional safeguarding and minor attraction. The purpose of the discussion is to establish initial perspectives on this question from a range of people who might have an interest in the topic.

The spirit of the discussion will not be debate or cross-examination, but simply an opportunity for contrasting views to be aired as a first step. The format will therefore be a 5-10 minute contribution from each participant in turn (no interruptions allowed) then a second round in which each participant can respond for a few minutes to what they heard in the first round (also with no cross-talk). Nobody is expected to change their mind or address any specific points except the above question. It is all about framing the topic for everyone’s understanding of the range of views on how this challenge can be addressed. The conversation will be held under the Chatham House Rule.