Okay, well there is this friend of mine and she told me she was abused. She did have some bruises. She made me promise not to tell anyone. I kept thinking about it, and at Mutual yesterday I told the bishop. He said that he'd call the school and say he was a minister from a local church, you know the rest. I'm worried. Did I do the right thing by telling him?
2007-11-15 09:05:13 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
yes. Never ever keep a secret like that. You may have saved her life.
2007-11-15 09:12:17 · answer #1 · answered by Princess Ninja 7 · 7⤊ 1⤋
You don't say if she told you who abused her. Did her father, boyfriend, teacher, or what? By virtue of your comment that the Bishop called the school, I assume that the abuse must have come from the school environment. If that is the case, then you had two options. You could tell someone at the school that you were concerned about your friend and relate what she told you or you could tell some other responsible adult, in this case your Bishop. To remain silent would be okay only if the friend was safe from further abuse. If she was still in the same abusive environment, then she was not safe and something needed to be done. If that is the case, then you did just fine. The Bishop the word along to the other responsible adults and something was done to take care of the situation and make sure that your friend was safe from further abuse.
Hopefully, your friend will thank you in the near future for looking out for her and helping her through a bad situation. Stay close to her so that she knows that you care about her welfare.
2007-11-15 18:12:17 · answer #2 · answered by rac 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes. As we're taught from a young age, some secrets are ok to keep, others aren't. You did the right thing. Just think how you would feel if you didn't say anything and something really bad happened to her, like she lost her life or was hospitalized for weeks, or even took her own life. Wouldn't you give anything if you could go back and tell someone? Of course you would. Well, you did. And now you don't have to worry about it. You told your Bishop, and that's a very good thing. She may not think so initially, but it was the right thing to do and I'm sure she will be grateful to you especially as time goes by.
2007-11-15 17:29:37 · answer #3 · answered by Tonya in TX - Duck 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
You did the right thing! It showed that you really cared for your friends health and safety. You may want to remind your bishop that as clergy, he is a mandatory reporter of child abuse and he is to tell the authorities first and immediately-not the school. He needs to call child protective services or the police.
He could be held liable if the girl continues to be abused and he hasn't reported it to the proper official.
Many people don't know the mandatory reporting laws- so you may want to tell him- or better yet- have your parents tell him.
2007-11-15 21:31:41 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Usually Bishops don't do anything, in my case, my bishops had no idea my dad had sexually abused me, and they let this other guy in my ward continue to be a mormon and never excomminucate him, they just told all the girls to stay away from him. So if the Bishop takes action and does not ignore the situation then GOOD FOR HIM. Then you did the right thing.
2007-11-15 22:55:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes you did. I know that it is hard. Anytime a friend confides in you about something that is illegal, abusive or immoral- you need to let an adult know.
What would you have done if the abuse was not stopped and she wound up in the hospital or worse? You would have felt guilty that you did not tell anyone. Sounds to me like you helped your friend out by telling an adult. A true friend will do that.
Kudos to you for being such a good friend.
2007-11-15 17:19:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 0⤋
That just reminded me of the Full House episode where Stephanie was put through the same ordeal...it was sad...i loved that show because you can actually put that stuff into real life unlike now a day shows. Stephanie did the same thing, She told her Uncle Jesse....and you were right to do it! that person could have died. She could have been so mentally and physically hurt that she could have killed herself. she is safer now that she isn't being abused. you did the right thing.
2007-11-15 19:28:52 · answer #7 · answered by Sariah 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, I would have told her that I was telling the bishop, just so that she had time to prepare herself emotionally for him contacting her. Other than that, yes, you did the right thing. Abuse is no joke, and needs to be taken seriously.
2007-11-15 17:12:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Another option would have been to tell your favorite teacher or a school counselor. Abuse continues in secrecy, so you did the brave thing and stood up for your friend's right to safety.
2007-11-15 17:26:04 · answer #9 · answered by Cookie777 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you did the right thing. Your friend reached out to you - wanting help. Despite the fear and embarrassment and shame, your friend wants [and needs] someone to intervene. You are not in a position to do so and went to someone who understood the process necessary to help protect your friend. Well done.
2007-11-16 12:46:15 · answer #10 · answered by strplng warrior mom 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not LDS, but yes, you did exactly the right thing. Even if your friend finds out and gets mad at you, YOU did the right thing.
2007-11-15 17:08:39 · answer #11 · answered by Debdeb 7 · 9⤊ 0⤋