The Sexual Offences Act makes it clear that compliance due to coercive control, vulnerability, power differential and abuse of trust is NOT consent. It was not possible for Z to consent and CPS guidance to the Act is very clear about this.

As victims who had attachment to our abusers and were groomed and exploited, it can be hard for us not to feel responsible for what happened and to use the language of assault, when there may not have been violence. This is understandable given the insidious nature of grooming and coercive control, which can be psychological not just physical. The use of spiritual authority in this way is recognised in domestic abuse legislation as coercion.

Z may not be comfortable with such language herself but the tribute should have been aware of the 2003 Act & CPS guidance and been clear in their own language. In plain English, this was rape.

Public and transparent processes do matter. A vicar’s transfer from Ireland to Norwich Diocese helps illustrate this. ‘Dialogue Ireland’ website has close to 20 posts on the case of Rev William James Stewart.

It takes time and effort to read those reports, ideally in conjunction with a BBC report and an article by The Church of England newspaper. But that effort brings a reward. It’s an interesting story with positive outcome. Transparency matters!