The Long Journey Home

Understanding and Ministering to the Sexually Abused

Schmutzer

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781621893271
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Religión

Maybe the only thing new about sexual abuse is quality discussion from several professions (psychology, theology, and pastoral care). Here are the insights of over two dozen psychologists, theologians, and those in pastoral care, all targeting the issue of sexual abuse. Designed as a resource for Christian educators, therapists, pastors, social workers, group leaders, and survivors, The Long Journey Home combines current research in mental health with rich theological reflection, global concern with fervent pastoral wisdom for the local faith community. Whether you are a counselor, professor, pastor, or spouse of a survivor, you hold in your hand a fresh resource of information and advocacy for those suffering from the devastating effects of sexual abuse and rape. The breadth of material, biblical insight, discussion questions, and helpful resources gathered here just may be the tool of a generation.

Part One

Understanding Sexual Abuse through the Social Sciences

1

Definitions and Prevalence Rates of Sexual Abuse

Quantifying, Explaining, and Facing a Dark Reality

Steven R. Tracy, PhD

I have written about *rape many times during the last fourteen years . . . It is difficult for many to imagine how one’s life changes after living through an experience of terror. I cannot imagine how my life might have been had I not been raped. I have little connection to my life prior to the rape. Rape forced me to start over. In a very disturbing way I experienced the *trauma of being torn from the womb and immediately recognizing that even while clothed, I am naked; even in a family, I am alone; even speaking, I am silenced; and even living, I am dying.1

*Sexual abuse (SA) is an incredibly complex and ugly subject. It is difficult and confusing to contemplate the possibility of vast numbers of fellow human beings all around us who stand naked while clothed, silenced while speaking, alone in a family, and dying while living. What should we make of this testimony? Is Ruth’s life-altering rape experience the rare exception, or is sexual abuse really as prevalent as many secular experts would have us believe? What exactly constitutes sexual abuse? Is it increasing or decreasing in frequency? What light does Scripture shed on the reality of sexual abuse? These are the critical questions we will seek to answer in this chapter.

Gospel Motivation for a Close Look
at Sexual Abuse

Until quite recently, physical and sexual abuse were not well understood, analyzed, or addressed. This changed dramatically in the 1970s when various professionals began writing detailed treatments on abuse. Many of these authors were secular or religiously liberal feminists who analyzed and addressed abuse by attacking *patriarchy, men, and even religion.2 This is particularly evident in two of the earliest treatments of sexual abuse. In her classic work on childhood sexual abuse, The Best Kept Secret, Florence Rush argued that *child sexual abuse (CSA) has been widespread historically and presently due to patriarchy fueled by religion, particularly Christianity.3 Similarly, in Against Our Will, one of the first modern detailed treatments of rape, Susan Brownmiller argued that from prehistoric times to the present, rape has been widespread and “is nothing more or less than a conscious process by which all men keep all women in a state of fear.”4 Thankfully, since the 1970s the sexual abuse literature has become more nuanced and balanced. Yet the fact remains that a high percentage of sexual abuse research and outreach is done by secular professionals and organizations.

Thus, it is important to note that Christians have the greatest motivations imaginable for grappling with and responding to the ugly reality of sexual abuse. Christian motivation for sexual abuse ministry can be summed up with a single, pregnant phrase: “the gospel.” The message of Christianity, the “good news” of the gospel, is that the innocent world God created has been corrupted and ravaged by sin. Sin infects and harms every person who walks the earth, resulting in a world of pain and evil, including sexual abuse. Incredibly, Jesus—the holy, divine Creator—voluntarily entered human history and took on human flesh for one primary purpose—to be fatally abused so that he could break the power of sin, death, and Satan.5 Jesus experienced physical and verbal abuse as well as sexual humiliation from being publicly crucified naked. Jesus summarized his ministry as a divine anointing to set captives free and release the oppressed (Luke 4:18–19). He showed particular love and care for the sexually broken.6 His earthly ministry was characterized by focused outreach to the marginalized, oppressed, and abused.7 It was also characterized by unflinching public warnings against abuse and clashes with spiritual and physical abusers.8 In summary, the gospel impels Christians to face the reality of widespread human sin, including abuse. It also impels us to confront abusers and minister to their victims.

Sexual Abuse Definitions and Prevalence

The Challenge

It should be noted at the outset of this discussion that accurate understandings of the *prevalence of sexual abuse are exceedingly difficult for several reasons: (1) Diverse definitions of sexual abuse lead to diverse and at times conflicting data. (2) Sexual abuse is humiliating and traumatizing for victims, making self-reports of sexual abuse notoriously unreliable, which can also lead to conflicting data. There is a strong consensus among experts that sexual abuse is seriously underreported and minimized by victims, and that it is one of the most underreported crimes in America. For instance, the National Violence Against Women Survey found that only one in five adult women reported their rapes to police.9 (3) Sexual abuse is painful and ugly for non-victims, creating a powerful innate *denial mechanism that often overrides clear evidence of abuse. This helps explain the extremely low rates of disclosure and prosecution of sexual abuse, particularly when perpetrated by family members.10 Denial of abuse is a widespread problem in the church and virtually every other social institution.

Definitions

It is essential that we construct precise definitions of “sexual abuse.” To do so, we will break this down into two subsets: (1) child sexual abuse and (2) adult sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse is the exploitation of a minor for the sexual gratification of another person through sexual contact or sexual interaction.11 This definition encompasses a much broader range of behaviors than many people realize, including contact and non-contact abuse.

Abusive sexual contact encompasses a wide spectrum of increasingly intrusive types of contact: sexual kissing, touching clothed breasts, touching clothed pubic areas, touching/fondling breasts, touching/fondling genitals, oral sex, and intercourse. Abusive sexual interaction involves such acts as deliberate exposure of a minor to pornography, sexual acts, or one’s own sexual organs (i.e., *exhibitionism). While some of these types of sexual abuse are clearly much less severe than others, all are illegal in the United States, all are morally wrong, and all have the potential to create great damage.12

Adult sexual abuse is “any sexual act in which the woman or man does not consent.”13 In defining CSA the initiation, objections, and/or responses of the child to sexual activity are irrelevant since there is an intrinsic power and developmental disparity between adults and children (or children and adolescents). In defining adult sexual abuse, however, the critical factor is consent. Often misunderstandings of sexual abuse result from a wrong focus on the relationship between the individuals—e.g., it is rape if a stranger forces sex, may not be rape if it is a cohabiting partner, and is certainly not rape if it is a husband. But relationship is not the issue. Sexual intercourse is a most intimate and powerful human act, and regardless of the nature of the relationship or previous sexual activity, no one has a right to force sex acts on someone else. Force can include direct physical aggression and/or assault as well as threats or other forms of *coercive control.

Sexual Abuse Prevalence

There is overwhelming data from numerous research studies indicating that in the United States and around the world, sexual abuse is tragically widespread and prevalent.

Child Sexual Abuse

One of the most respected and thorough studies of child abuse is the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect. The Fourth, and most recent National Incidence Study was released early in 2010. It revealed the following about CSA:

• An estimated 135,000 children were sexually abused in 2005/2006, a 36 percent decrease from the previous National Incidence Study of 1993.
• Girls were sexually abused at a rate over five times that of boys.
• Black children were sexually abused at a rate almost twice that of white children.
• Children in low socioeconomic families were three-and-a-half times more likely to be sexually abused.
• 37 percent of sexually abused children were abused by a biological parent, and another 23 percent were abused by a step-parent.
• 87 percent of sexually abused children were abused by a male.14

There has been much discussion of the fact that government statistical rates for CSA declined markedly b...

Table of contents

• The Long Journey Home
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Part One: Understanding Sexual Abuse through the Social Sciences
• Part Two: Engaging Sexual Abuse through the Theological Disciplines
• Part Three: Addressing Sexual Abuse through Pastoral Care
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Appendix C
• Bibliography
• Glossary
• Contributors