#CopticMeToo

Demand for Accountability from Coptic Religious Leadership Regarding the Sexual Abuse of Children in North American Coptic Orthodox Churches

4 min readFeb 1, 2021

February 1st, 2021

It’s been 204 days.

It’s been 204 days since Sally Zakhari bravely went public with her story of trauma and sexual abuse at the hands of a former Coptic Orthodox priest, Fr. Roweis Aziz Khalil (now Yousef Aziz Khalil). She has spoken and testified at investigations among Coptic religious leaders to protect other Coptic children from harm from predators who have taken advantage of their positions as the community’s trusted spiritual servants, only to be ignored and maligned by Church authorities. For years, Sally has been contacting Bishop Youssef of the Coptic Southern Diocese after finding out that Roweis was still serving in Coptic churches in the US. She has been ignored.

Sally’s testimony and the subsequent laicization of Roweis have encouraged other Coptic survivors to come forward, exposing three more priests with ties to the Coptic Southern Diocese for sexual violence. This moment has revealed an endemic problem for the Coptic Orthodox Church broadly, as made evident by the testimonies of other survivors who have also come forward through Instagram handles such as @theburningbush and @CopticSurvivor. Hundreds of stories of this shared trauma have circulated under the #CopticMeToo hashtag across the world, and the Coptic Church has not been accountable for their failure to face this problem. So far, Church leaders have refused to hold abusers accountable, choosing instead, to avoid the problem and only to relocate abusers to other parishes where they may continue their sexual abuse on the bodies of other Coptic children.

Frustrated with this lack of accountability, a young parishioner from the Coptic Southern Diocese, Jennifer Milad, started a petition to change the sexual assault policy in the Southern Diocese four months ago. Her petitioned requests that the Diocese mirror the policies released by North American Coptic Dioceses following Sally’s testimony. These new policies aimed to protect congregations through mandatory training, protocols regarding investigations, and counseling. Despite back-and-forth emails and meetings, Bishop Youssef has refused to change the policy, stating that there is already a policy in place — the same and dated policy that was in place when four known pedophiles were active in his diocese.

We demand accountability from all Coptic religious leaders, from Pope Tawadros II to the Metropolitan and Bishops who oversee our Churches in the diaspora. We also demand accountability from those who chose a pastoral service and who chose to be stewards of Coptic congregations.

Publish a clear, accessible, and transparent sexual assault policy in Arabic and in English for every Coptic Orthodox Diocese in North America. This must include the Southern Diocese that has otherwise refused to update their policy, which, as it stands, does not center or protect survivors.
Laicize and defrock three known pedophiles: There have been multiple Church investigations that have uncovered overwhelming evidence of guilt for Youssef Chehata, Samuel Boules, and Anthony Baky. What is the Coptic Orthodox Church waiting for?
Commit to laicizing and defrocking any person of the rank of priesthood who harms children. Reprimanding, transferring, and restricting their service are not sufficient disciplinary measures as they normalize pedophilia and allow its continuation. Moreover, by laicizing and defrocking abusers, it instills priesthood as a right instead of a privilege of service.
Prevent retraumatization by subjecting survivors to private tribunals, unaccompanied meetings with Bishops and clerical authority, and stigmatization by the broader community for speaking up about sexual abuse.
Report abuse and abusers to state and local authorities to prevent any further abuses after they have been defrocked. Importantly, refer survivors to state licensed counselors and therapists to begin to heal from these traumatizing experiences. The clerical leadership ought to serve as spiritual advisors, not legal and therapeutic officials.

We stand in solidarity with Sally Zakhari and all Coptic survivors of sexual abuse within the Coptic Orthodox Church. We stand in solidarity with Jennifer Milad and her call for a sexual assault policy in the Southern Diocese. Every month, on the 21st, we will post on our social media: #KolenaSallyZee or #WeAreAllSallyZee or #كلنا_سالي_زخاري. We will continue to demand accountability from Coptic Orthodox religious leaders, including Pope Tawadros II, and call on solidarity from our Coptic communities and allies.

We stand together for we are the Church. And we, the Church, demand change.

#KolenaSallyZee #WeAreAllSallyZee #كلنا_سالي_زخاري

#CopticMeToo #CopticChurchToo

#ChurchToo #MeToo

In solidarity,

The Coptic Coalition

Follow the movement:

Sally Zakhari: @sallyzeeee

Jennifer Milad: @jennifer_milad_

The Burning Bush: @theburningbush20

Coptic Survivors: @copticsurvivor

For further reading on the #CopticMeToo movement see: