One of the ways the Church can combat abuse is by considering its traditionally male hierarchy

‘Egalitarian leadership structures have been shown to combat the attitudes and beliefs that can lead to abuse, and to provide a protective factor when abuse does occur,’ argues Sally Hope.

This recent Woman Alive article argues that increasing numbers of female pastors will not decrease the number of church scandals. I disagree, if the Church really wants to combat abuse, one of the things it must do is review its male dominated hierarchy.   

Even in churches where there are no official restrictions on female clergy, men still dominate leadership positions. In the Church of England for example, men outnumber women as incumbents by more than 2 to 1.