The Anglican Church’s sexual abuse defence playbook

Abstract

This article is written by a law professor who is also a survivor of sexual abuse by the Anglican priest Meirion Griffiths. In her attempt to get restitution, she recounts her experience of the adversarial tactics used against sexual abuse claimants by the Church of England through the Ecclesiastical Insurance Company. She argues, from her own experience, that the reliance on rape myth, the defence of limitations and the use of biased ‘expert’ medical witnesses are deeply offensive, especially when used by the Church.