Nancy Turley

Territorial Abuse Advisor

Areas of Expertise
Sex abuse
Abuse within the church
Abuse training
Addictions

Bio and Experience
Nancy Turley has worked as Territorial Abuse Advisor for The Salvation Army for 11 years. Prior to joining The Salvation Army, she spent seven years working with the Canadian government as an addiction councilor. She has a degree in social work from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky and a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from the Asbury Theological Seminary.

In her current position, Ms. Turley deals with cases of abuse whether physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, psychological or verbal.

Her role
“My role is two-fold: I investigate allegations of abuse within The Salvation Army and I act as an educator, teacher and trainer to help our leaders deal with abuse within their congregations. In addition, I provide resources for dealing with addictions to such things as pornography, and offer training to help our counselors adhere to best practices.”

Abuse within the church
“Abuse shouldn’t happen anywhere, but especially not within families and not within the church communities. My work is educational as well as reactive and proactive. We want everyone to know that we are prepared to address the issue of abuse within The Salvation Army.”

Acknowledging the problem
“Many people don’t believe that abuse is going on within their church. Acknowledging that abuse does happen is a step forward. Also, it is important for people to understand that just because one pastor is abusive doesn’t mean that all pastors are abusive. With some of the media attention on issues within the church, we have all been tainted in a terrible light.”

A unique position
“The Salvation Army is leading the fight against abuse within churches by having a full-time Territorial Abuse Advisor who is charged with investigating and identifying potential abuse issues. It is a trailblazing position for churches today, and I don’t have many counterparts. I am helping other churches and organizations to establish protocols, training exercises, and standards for the people working within their ministry, just as we have done in The Salvation Army. Risk management is becoming more prominent in churches, but it needs to be on a larger scale.”

Misconceptions
“There is a misconception that nothing can be done within the church to address the problem of abuse, but we do not take that approach. The very fact that I am a full-time staff member, who is prepared to handle the work that determines whether or not an abuse has been committed, speaks highly of the Army’s commitment to address the issue.”

The Salvation Army’s commitment
“Because we are The Salvation Army, I feel very strongly that we should live out our holiness in every aspect of who we are, whether it is social or church related. When we are dealing with people, we have to treat everybody with dignity and respect, and if we fail to do that, we fail to accomplish our mission. This commitment is not so much a job, but rather it is my life’s calling. There are many painful realities to deal with, but it is important to remember that I am surrounded by many wonderful people at The Salvation Army.”

What can be done?
“We have to stand up against abuse, and I believe I play a primary role in this work. I encourage people not to stand by and watch things happen. Instead, we need to solve problems together and in ways that match our values as a Christian organization.”

Nancy Turley is available for media interviews, speaking engagements and other appearances. To contact Nancy Turley, please call or email Andrew Burditt with The Salvation Army at (416) 422-6208 or Andrew_Burditt@can.salvationarmy.org.