CW: rape culture, abuse enabling, church complacency
In 2019, Allen Hoover and Dr. Jeanette Harder co-authored a book intended to discuss abuse in “our” Plain communities. That may have been the first sign of a problem, given the fact that Jeanette Harder is not, and never has been, Plain. Although Allen Hoover is Plain, the very title of the book conveys a problem: Jeanette Harder presents herself as an expert on a community to which she does not and never has belonged. As an organization co-founded by Jeanette Harder, Dove’s Nest supported and enabled that presentation by supporting the (problematic) book and her claim of expertise.
Because of the efforts of several organizations that actually are experts in Plain communities, though, a small group of Dove’s Nest’s board members agreed to have a conversation about the harm Jeanette Harder was causing and, as a result, the harm they were causing by supporting her. I want to admit that I am sure it was difficult for that group to meet with people trying to educate them on the harm they were causing. I am sure it was even harder when they realized that something must be done. I am so impressed by the work of Scott Litwiller, especially, as I know that he advocated passionately for Dove’s Nest to recognize their responsibility in harming conservative Anabaptists by enabling Jeanette Harder. He even convinced them to accept responsibility – for a time. Dove’s Nest took accountability, for a moment…and then took it all away.
Dove’s Nest is now closing, and their funds, at least, are likely being turned over to Mennonite Church USA. Mennonite Church USA will, in theory, be the ones carrying on the work that Dove’s Nest has been doing to advocate for child abuse prevention and protection policies. But, what will Mennonite Church USA do about Jeanette Harder? Well, that is unknown. You see, one month ago (Feb 15, 2023), I reached out to several Mennonite Church USA leaders about Dr. Jeanette Harder and the harm she had caused, as well as explaining at least some of what Dove’s Nest had done about that harm. As of yet, I have not heard from any of them, and the advocates who had been working so tirelessly to hold Jeanette Harder accountable had not heard from them either. I have included the email I sent them below, and you can likely see it is a very long email. Maybe they have not cared enough in the past month to make it through that letter; that says scary things about their commitment to child safety and protection.
Email Sent to Mennonite Church USA leaders on Feb 15, 2023:
Hi, everyone. I am reaching out to you to discuss a concern relating to Mennonite Church USA’s work on child safety and child abuse prevention.
My name is Dr. Tara Mitchell, and I am a legal psychologist. I teach at a regional public university in Pennsylvania, and much of my time is spent working to address the problem of interpersonal violence. I teach, research, and do service within my community aimed at reducing the problems of sexual assault and abuse, domestic violence, stalking, and hate crimes. Part of that work, by the way, has been by volunteering for and leading nonprofit boards. You may wonder why I am reaching out to you today, and I hope you will be willing to provide me with some of your time as I explain the concerns that led me to contact you.
In April of 2021, I was contacted about a case against an Amish man accused of sexually abusing his child (Gideon Miller, Jr.) because of my work with domestic violence and sexual assault agencies and my research on interpersonal violence. Since that time, I have begun to work with various Anabaptist organizations to bring awareness to the problem of child sexual abuse among the Amish and Plain Mennonites.
I’ve seen so many current (and former) Amish and Plain Mennonites advocate for the children in their lives. They are dedicated to bringing the abuse their children face to light and helping those children heal while also reducing the number of children abused in the future. On the flip side, of course, I have also seen Amish and Plain Mennonite leaders silence those voices, ignoring and even punishing those who advocate for their children’s safety, often in the name of “protecting the church’s image.” Unfortunately, I’ve come to find that there is a small group of my fellow academics who are enabling and supporting leaders in those efforts.
Dr. Jeanette Harder is one of those people, and that is why I am contacting you today. You see, several people have tried to help Dr. Harder understand the harm she has caused (and still is causing), and she has refused to accept accountability with each attempt. I will provide more on that harm, but I want to start by saying that her harm is now your harm. Because Dr. Harder is irrevocably connected to Dove’s Nest (and to you) and Dove’s Nest is irrevocably connected to you, Dr. Harder may be perceived as an “agent” of your organization, whether she is paid or not. In the case of non-profits, someone may be perceived as an agent of your organization, even if they are not. If Dr. Harder is seen as a legitimate agent of your organization, it is possible for you to be seen as vicariously liable for the harm she has caused.
You may wonder how you could possibly be seen as vicariously liable for anything Dr. Harder has done. For one, people have been informed that you may be receiving funds after Dove’s Nests dissolution, and the connection between you and Dove’s Nest has been made clear. You will be taking on Dove’s Nest’s assets – and liabilities. Further, Dr. Harder’s own work has drawn a connection between herself and you (e.g., Harder & Wilder, 2021). Her work supports your work, and your work supports her work.
What are you supporting?
Well, Dr. Harder, while potentially a good evaluation researcher, does not report her work well. For example, in Harder and Wilder (2021), she discusses the outcome of a study on Mennonite USA Church congregations and their child protection policies as of 2018; she compares that to a similar study done in 2010. However, in 2018, there was a blog post (https://web.archive.org/web/20220301015943/https://dovesnest.net/3/4-of-Churches-Now-Have-Policies) on the Dove’s Nest site, celebrating the progress made between 2010 and 2018. Unfortunately, because of the vastly different response rates, it is difficult to point to progress over time. Because of response rates, you know that, in 2010, 16% of churches (139 out of the 855) had policies. Because of response rates, you know that, in 2018, 15% of churches (91 out of the 608) had policies. Harder and Wilder (2021), which is available in academic circles, clearly discusses the differences between those churches with policies and those without in 2018 and less time is spent on the comparison to 2010’s study. However, the publicly facing blog post makes the change over time sound more influential than it (perhaps) was.
It’s a minor thing, really, and one could argue that Dr. Harder had nothing to do with the blog post, as she is not listed as the author. However, it has raised questions about Dr. Harder’s research integrity that she has allowed the perception of progress to be made. There are several people who now ask what that says about Dove’s Nest and the Mennonite Church USA.
More importantly, though, Dr. Harder has continually normalized abuse of children, even as she claims to be focused on keeping children safe. She wrote a book, For the Sake of a Child, with Allen Hoover, a book that Dove’s Nest happily publicized (e.g., https://web.archive.org/web/20220228235015/https://dovesnest.net/Book-Supports-Plain-Abuse-Awareness). That book comes with recommended resources at the end. One is Whispering Hope, an unlicensed facility that “treats” sex offenders. I put treats in quotes because the people running the facility are also unlicensed and have no training in best practices for treatment of sex offenders (as they have admitted in a court of law). A quick review of the internet shows that Whispering Hope also has a reputation for including conjugal visits with a spouse as part of the treatment – because they believe men would not sexually abuse a child if their wives would simply give them the right amount and type of sex, in other words, whatever they want whenever they want (e.g., https://www.facebook.com/carlislepastrong/posts/307583944228150/). When I asked Dr. Harder how she vetted these facilities, she said she had not done much vetting at all, and maybe she should have added some kind of disclaimer to that effect.
In that same resource section, there is a recommendation for Sacred Subjects. I am not sure if you are aware of it; I wasn’t when I started working with Anabaptist survivors and advocates. It is hard for “the English” like myself to find but it is a series of booklets designed to help parents discuss sensitive topics with their children. One is called To A Girl of Eleven, and it is a somewhat letter-style booklet to help 11 year old girls as they enter puberty. In addition to some scientifically…questionable…information about reproduction, it admonishes 11-year-old girls to be careful how they dress at home so that they don’t make their older, teenaged brothers sin by lusting after them. It also reassures them that, as long as they pray hard enough and never leave home alone, they don’t have to worry about being raped by outsiders. So, Dr. Harder is recommending that girls never leave home alone and that they need to be on guard at all times that they do not MAKE their older brothers lust after them. This directly contradicts the stated purpose of the book, Dr. Harder’s work, Dove’s Nest’s work, and, by extension, your work.
It is also a direct slap in the face of all the current and former Amish and Plain Mennonites who are speaking out against abuse in their communities, often to their own detriment. A licensed social worker is suggesting that 11-year-old girls are at fault when their brothers assault them. Current and former Amish and Plain Mennonites have been speaking out about the harm caused by Dr. Harder’s work for quite some time. In 2022, 20 of them signed an open letter to her (posted at https://www.themisfitamish.com/post/open-letter-to-dr-jeanette-harder). They speak about the harm she has caused, the silencing she has engaged in, and their attempts to gently bring those things to her attention. She has yet to fully engage with them to address their concerns, particularly given that she is an academic from a different background (liberal Mennonite) who does not fully understand the culture that she is “studying.”
By the way, she has stated she will no longer be doing the same type of work and is now more involved with adoption, including of children of color, by the Amish and Plain Mennonites. This is even more problematic, as there is a vocal group of adoptees who are clear about the abuse and racism they faced, but Dr. Harder has – as of yet – refused to engage with them as well.
It may be easy to dismiss this as a “Dr. Harder problem;” however, you are now taking on all of the assets and liabilities of Dove’s Nest, and Dove’s Nest has a Dr. Harder liability. After continual advocacy on the part of survivors and advocates, Dove’s Nest came to realize that they had enabled the harm caused by Dr. Harder. With their publicizing of For the Sake of a Child, they had unintentionally encouraged victim blaming and harm to the people they claim to support. They did very difficult soul searching, which I respect them for, and released a statement, formally acknowledging the harm they caused, separating from Dr. Harder, and committing to moving forward (https://intoaccount.org/2022/07/04/doves-nests-statement-on-dr-jeanette-harders-amish-plain-work/). That statement was up for approximately a month, and then it was quietly taken down. You may be aware of why it was taken down; I understand that Dove’s Nest felt a great deal of pressure. While, as someone involved in nonprofit leadership, I question the decision to take down the statement, I recognize the pressure being faced.
However, taking the statement down immediately eliminated Dove’s Nest separation from Dr. Harder and her harm. They are now seen as just as complicit in that harm. Not only did they spend time (unintentionally) enabling her harm, they stepped back from addressing the harm. People were directly looking to Dove’s Nest for accountability, and Dove’s Nest failed that. For good or for bad, that means this is now your problem. You are now seen as the organization who claims to care about child sexual abuse, but normalizes it and blames the victim. You are now seen as the organization who claims to care about Amish and Plain Mennonite child safety, but ignores Amish and Plain Mennonite child abuse survivors. You are now seen as the organization that claims to value transparency, but instead uses victim-blaming, academic privilege, and positions of power to hinder growth and accountability.
There are many people watching this unfold who felt Dove’s Nest was vicariously liable, and now see you as such. Whether or not Dr. Harder ever enters into a sincere process of reconciliation with the advocates and survivors who have reached out to her is not something you can control. However, you can choose to recognize your vicarious responsibility in this situation. You can choose to pick up where Dove’s Nest faltered and truly do what I recognize is hard, soul searching work. It will not be easy and it will likely not be comfortable, but listen to what people have been trying to tell Dr. Harder for years. Listen to what people have been trying to tell Dove’s Nest – and hold fast to a decision to publicly acknowledge the harm Dr. Harder, Dove’s Nest, and now you – through them – have caused.
I suspect you are aware of the survivors and advocates who have been working to hold Dr. Harder accountable. If not, however, I would be happy to address any questions you may have about the academic integrity involved and direct you to the survivors and advocates who have been doing the work to hold Dr. Harder accountable.
Thank you for your time.
Tara's Thoughts 
Leave a comment