‘#ChurchToo’: Christianity Today Admits Rampant Sexual Harassment Went on ‘Unchecked’ for 12 Years
Christianity Today, the publication founded in the 1950s by Billy Graham, self-reported years of internal sexual harassment this week.
Editor Daniel Silliman reported the news on Tuesday in a piece he said was not reviewed by ministry executives before its publication.
According to Silliman, sexual harassment of female staffers by two top executives at the publication went on for 12 years. Nothing was ever done about it, despite numerous complaints against both men.
Former editor-in-chief Mark Galli and former advertising director Olatokunbo Olawoye were both accused of patterns of sexual harassment at Christianity Today’s office in Carol Stream, Illinois.
Silliman reported,
Women at CT were touched at work in ways that made them uncomfortable. They heard men with authority over their careers make comments about the sexual desirability of their bodies. And in at least two cases, they heard department heads hint at openness to an affair.
More than half a dozen employees reported harassment from Galli or Olawoye to a manager or HR between the mid-2000s and 2019. But neither leader was written up, formally warned about their inappropriate behavior, suspended, or otherwise punished. There is no record that Christianity Today took any corrective action, even after repeated complaints of nearly identical offenses.
One woman hired in the mid-2000s reported that Galli made innuendo-laden statements to her as he held a door open for her. Shortly after, she said Olawoye came into her office, closed the door, complimented her, tapped her leg and complained about his marriage.
Numerous other former female staffers described their experiences in dealing with Galli and Olawoye.
One woman said Galli put his arm around her and placed his hand 0n her butt during a group photo in 2019. She said he kept it there until the photo was taken.
An investigation revealed that after 30 years at the publication, there was not a single disciplinary action taken against Galli. He was verbally reprimanded on multiple occasions, Silliman reported.
Galli left the publication in 2019 amid a backlash over his calling for former President Donald Trump to be removed from office.
His last reported act of alleged sexual harassment came in 2021, when he visited employees in Wheaton, Illinois. Galli allegedly groped a female editor, and then gave her a look which she interpreted as “unapologetically sexual.”
Christianity Today vowed “robust” protocols to ensure pattern sexual harassment does not go unchecked in the future.
“It wasn’t until after the start of the #MeToo and #ChurchToo social media movements that CT leadership started to review policies and train staff on sexual harassment,” Silliman concluded.
