NCJ Number
224798
Journal
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 17 Issue: 3/4 Dated: November 2008 Pages: 216-237
Date Published
November 2008
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse (CPSA) on women abused either as children or adults.
Abstract
This study provides evidence that the women who survive CPSA experience noteworthy symptoms of psychosocial distress that can lead to long-term and possibly permanent impairment in functioning. Many women interviewed felt degraded by the denial of the abuse and/or blaming of the victim by church leaders and institutional church structures in response to the victim’s efforts to seek help. Uninformed viewpoints promulgated within some churches, which implied consent and mutuality when a clergyperson was sexually involved with a congregant and did not recognize that the inherently unequal power relationships, negatively complicated a victim’s experience. When women reflected on clergy abuse from a vantage point of safety, many identified various forms of manipulation, coercion, and grooming behaviors embedded in the relationship and that power differentials invalidated any conception of mutuality or consent. One finding in this study demonstrated the shift among many women toward a relational spirituality in lieu of a hierarchical spirituality dependent on an organized church structure. For the women who made this shift, making a divine/human distinction was essential to bridging the soul wound they described. The current structure of institutionalized religion was unable to meet the needs of many, and they sought renewed spiritual strength through the love of family and friends and regained relational capacity. Data were collected from 25 women sexually abused by clergy. References