PEOPLE COME TO COMMUNITY because they are suffering. They are looking for comfort and healing; they join in community to lift each other up, to give each other strength, to believe in each other when they can no longer believe in themselves. A spiritual community is nothing if it cannot take care of its most vulnerable.
Unfortunately, communities sometimes fail.
There are too many cases in which spiritual leaders—whether monastics, teachers, or supposedly enlightened gurus—have abused their position, taking advantage of the very people they are meant to protect. Sexual violations within a community are especially damaging, as for some, it is the one place that is seen as pure and safe in a corrupt and dangerous world. If even here is fraught with abuse, what hope to find sanctuary anywhere else?
One of the tragedies of sexual assault is how hard it is for survivors to find justice. They suffer terrible trauma, only to undergo a second trauma at the hands of the justice system. They know there is only a small chance of bringing their abusers to justice, and yet if they say nothing, they live with the knowledge that their abusers are still out there and, in all likelihood, harming others.
It is critical, then, that every Buddhist community, whether the traditional monastic sangha or contemporary lay-centered groups, have an explicit and responsible procedure for dealing with sexual abuse within their walls. Assume that it is not a matter of if but when. And in monastic communities, it is essential to support the order of fully ordained women (bhikkhuni). Without them, the monks have no female peers, no sisters and equals to stand up for women and call monks out on their blind spots.
The principles laid down by the Buddha for addressing sexual misconduct were strikingly progressive, though they sometimes seem to have been honored more in the breach than the observance. It is worth taking some time to understand these procedures, which are relevant both
