A Pastoral Care and Solidarity Team will also be present to help address complaints and walk with those in need. Below, WCC deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri explains how the Code of Conduct will be implemented, and the kind of support the Pastor Care and Solidarity Team will offer. She also reflects on the work that led to the adoption of the Code of Conduct. How will the Code of Conduct be implemented? Dr Phiri: For the Assembly, the Code of Conduct is a covenant by all who attend, that we will all act in a way consistent with our Christian principles and legal requirements. All participants will be notified of these expectations. The code includes a complaint mechanism as well as the optional support of a Pastoral Care and Solidarity Team for the complainant. Could you describe the role of the Pastoral Care and Solidarity Team? Dr Phiri: This team will assist participants of the WCC assembly who require pastoral accompaniment, whether it’s physical, mental, or spiritual. The team will also promote a helpful, enabling environment that is a safe, welcoming, and nurturing space for all—one that facilitates a sense of belonging. The Pastoral Care and Solidarity Team will also promote the WCC Assembly Code of Conduct to prevent not only gender and sexual-based violence but all forms of violence, discrimination, corruption, and fraud, and assist in a helpful and timely response. We want the assembly and other WCC gatherings to be a safe and sacred space for all. What was a major impetus for the Code of Conduct? Dr Phiri: Though the Code of Conduct covers many types of behaviors, one major impetus for the code is that, at the WCC, we have consistently urged member churches and ecumenical partners to condemn or reiterate their condemnation of gender-based violence of any form, and to overcome the attitudes that predispose people to such violence. Part of addressing gender-based violence is developing clear sexual harassment policies that spell out the consequences for such harassment. The approval of Gender Justice Principles at the WCC central committee meeting in February was a milestone for WCC—a milestone we celebrated. At the same time, we acknowledged that the principles do not provide clear guidance on how to implement a corresponding Code of Conduct. In other words, we were missing the legs to put the principles into action—thus the Code of Conduct. Following this, a WCC central committee statement in June welcomed “the initiative of the acting general secretary to develop a Code of Conduct to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment for the 11th Assembly and future WCC gatherings.” Why is this important for the WCC’s work for gender justice—now and into the future? Dr Phiri: WCC's priorities are gender justice and prevention of gender-based violence. Our campaign, Thursdays in Black, highlights our commitment to ending gender-based violence. This can't be just words. We must have processes and principles at all levels that carry out the principles on which our faith is founded. If the Code of Conduct is “just words,” the behaviors it suggests, describes, and ultimately enforces are what we need to address the root causes of gender-based violence not only in the WCC but across the world. How was the Code of Conduct developed? Dr Phiri: We did our research: we looked at our existing policies, we looked at what ecumenical partners and churches have in place. As we are in the lead-up to the assembly, we of course consulted with our German partners to ensure we had a Code of Conduct founded on our faith as well as fulfilling our legal requirements. What is your personal prayer as we all move ahead together with the Code of Conduct and the vision upon which it is founded? Dr Phiri: After we have met the legal requirements the Code of Conduct requires from us, let us turn our eyes to what this covenant will bring: a sense of respect, hope, and justice within the ecumenical family that enables us to focus together on the difficult challenges of the world and the hope churches can bring together. Let us focus not just on words but on the relationships that will be sustained and formed as we enter into the busy days ahead of us. WCC Assembly Code of Conduct | 
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