Clergy and Educator Abuse Survivors Empowered!

Clergy Sexual Abuse written by Frances Park

The following article originally appeared in the Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. Newsletter, July, 1996. Copyright © 1996
Reproduced here with permission from the author.

It is commonly believed that clergy sexual abuse is an exclusively Catholic problem that does not happen in other churches. In a 1983 doctoral thesis by Richard Blackmon, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner and 38% admitted to other sexualized contact with a parishioner.¹ In separate denominational surveys, 48% of United Church of Christ female ministers and 77% of United Methodist female ministers reported having been sexually harassed in church.² Although the actual extent of the problem is unknown, the significance of clergy sexual abuse is acknowledged by the denominational leaders of all Christian churches.³

The characteristics of clergy who violate sexual boundaries are as diverse as those of persons who sexually abuse or harass and are employed in other occupations. Characteristics more closely associated with the ministerial role are ascribed community trust, charisma, and patriarchal privilege and power. The clergy person is often accepted as God's representative whose authority is not to be questioned. Trustworthiness ascribed to the ministerial role is readily transferred as a character trait to those who fulfill that role. Charisma is a personal attribute that pulls the admiration of the church community as well as those who might serve the minister as sexual partner. The minister who enters into exploitive sexual relationships may do so because of situational circumstances or because he or she (most frequently "he") chronically disregards the welfare of others in order to meet their own needs.⁴ Frequently, more than one person is targeted for sexualized contact.

Most recipients of clergy sexual abuse are thought to be women, although children and men are also affected. They may be counselees, church volunteers or employees, seminarians or church interns. The violations range from verbal harassment to violent rape. Frequently, the individual responds to manipulative sexual advances of the clergy person. Individuals who have been retaliated against for reporting sexual abuse by clergy include people who did not experience sexualized contact but who affiliated themselves with survivors. Retaliation has included death threats.⁵ The common characteristic between abuse recipients is that they have fewer resources and therefore less power than the clergy person. Adult recipients of clergy sexual abuse are thought to experience the betrayal by God more strongly and to experience more severe adaptive consequences than others who experience sexual abuse during adulthood.⁶

The power differential between clergy and abuse recipient is determined not only by personal characteristics but also by what is provided to each by the church community. The clergy person has considerable control of the church pulpit and newsletter and may maintain that control even after a report of sexual abuse is received by the church. Denial is a common response by the church community, which contributes its empathetic support to the person accused rather than the identified victim. Responses of churches have included directly contributing to the abuse process. Examples of church abuse include: shunning, victim-blaming for loss of the community leader, and public verbal and physical harassment⁷. Church denial promotes the community esteem of the clergy person and allows a clergy perpetrator access to large numbers of potential victims.

In her 1992 address at the first national conference sponsored by The Linkup (Victims of Clergy Abuse Linkup), president Jeanne Miller stated that of the 3,000 persons who had contacted The Linkup, virtually everyone had gone to their church first for pastoral support and resolution. Rather than help, they were further punished for breaking silence. Examples of abuse by church hierarchy for reporting clergy sexual abuse have included: requiring people to confess their victimization as sin, excommunication, firing from church employment and threat of slander suits.⁸ If church has centered the survivor's faith life and sense of spirituality, these actions are especially damaging. While the victim is further punished, the sense of power-over and privilege of access to victims by the offending cleric is again enhanced. The reassignment of offending clergy to a new parish while withholding information about previous complaints of sexual misconduct occurs beyond the Catholic Church.

The compounding of these abuses is crushing to all dimensions of the survivor's integrity. Threats to safety as well as sense of safety are real. The response of the crisis counselor or therapist can contribute either to healing or enhancing the sense of victimization. Helpful responses include: safety instruction, referrals for support resources out of the immediate geographic community, referrals to the clergy abuse survivors' network, affirmation that the reporter's fears and pain are valid and that she or he is believed. It is recommended that initial referrals for pastoral services be located outside the survivor's denomination and with a recommendation from other clergy abuse survivors. Survivors of clergy abuse discourage use of denominational hotlines as a first step in reporting. Responses that add to the survivor's sense of isolations include statements indicating the reporter's story is unbelievable or that assistance is unavailable or that the recipient should forgive and get on with life.

The counselor who is active in church life can be of further support by advocating for local church education and policy development. When confronted with a disclosure, accepting the risk to advocate for the compassionate treatment of those who report can affect the level of the survivor's vulnerability. A demand for accountable action can provide leadership to avoid church abuse and create a spiritual and safe haven for those already oppressed.

References

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