The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday unveiled a new process for filing complaints against churches accused of improperly handling sexual abuse allegations.

The convention’s leadership created an online portal that accepts reports of misconduct — the latest action in response to a Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News investigation that found hundreds of Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers have been convicted or credibly accused of sex crimes. They left behind more than 700 victims, nearly all of them children.

In June, delegates from thousands of SBC churches overwhelmingly approved two reforms to combat sexual abuse and make it easier for congregations that mishandle abuse complaints to be removed from the network of 47,000 churches and 15 million people.

The reforms include empowering an SBC committee to make “inquiries” into how churches handle sexual abuse allegations.

Details of how the committee would operate have since been scarce, frustrating many activists and survivors.

Some were disappointed by the process unveiled Tuesday because the online portal does not accept anonymous reports. The guidelines also allow for the sharing of complainants’ names with churches under scrutiny.

Stacy Bramlett, chair of the SBC committee tasked with handling the complaints, said although the portal does not accept anonymous reports, the committee would encourage people to have friends or others file complaints on their behalf if they are uncomfortable coming forward.

“It is the committee’s intent to maintain as much confidentiality as possible while doing what is necessary to complete our assignment,” Bramlett said.

The Southern Baptist Convention Credentials Committee does not have the power to launch full-fledged investigations, but will refer its findings to the faith group’s leadership, who have the power to remove a congregation from the SBC.

On Tuesday, the credentials committee announced the process for future inquiries, established a tip line for complaints and said that, if requested, it would pair survivors with outside groups and resources.

Rachael Denhollander, a lawyer who was the first person to publicly accuse USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nasser of abuse, has been assisting SBC leaders as they develop policies. She said she was glad “to finally see a process beginning,” but called for more transparency into the committee’s operations.

She also said the committee needs to provide more details on the standards for removing a church from the SBC.

“Abusers and enablers flourish by keeping survivors and their families isolated from each other, and establishing a pattern of abuse or mishandling is often critical evidence,” Denhollander said. “However, survivors and witnesses cannot speak up if they are not made aware of an ongoing review.”

Christa Brown, a longtime activist who wrote a book about being abused at her church in Farmer’s Branch, also said she was concerned by the decision against anonymous complaints.

She said it places an unfair burden on those who already carry the weight of abuse, or who put themselves or their families at risk by coming forward.

Brown noted that most Southern Baptist churches are in rural parts of the country, meaning those who do report abuses already risk backlash in small communities.

“And it’s not just survivors,” she said. “There are other pastors, deacons, church secretaries (who may want to file complaints). All of them I think will be intimidated.”

robert.downen@chron.com