Church Abuse includes a wide-range of immoral and heinous acts often commited against young children and adolescents by predatory priests or other church members involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The assault might be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may involve many acts inside a continuing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” relationship with a child created by the predatory behavior of a clergy associate, cloaked with the trust and respect provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual abuse acts of molestation.
In most alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the failure by the Clergy member’s employer to completely, adequately and immediately report the offense to police and other authorities, or the continuing failure to investigate, address and resolve fully with the occurrence amplifies the harm on the assault survivor, the community and potentially others. Recent Clergy Sexual Abuse cases reported in the media uncover these failures, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the predator commonly a priest in the Catholic Church, is suddenly re-assigned from one church to another only to continue his predatory, criminal action on an unaware parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault & Justice Not a week goes by without a news announcement coverage regarding sexual abuse and molestation of children by pedophile priests, or the effects of the assault on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual assault from a priest or other church member, these reports are likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, shame, guilt and other unwelcome thoughts harming your well-being. Encouraged by the societal movement and other pathways that encourage survivors to disclose the assault they suffered, survivors of assault are more frequently turning to the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime harm and injury they have experienced.
If you are a survivor of abuse perpetrated by a member of the clergy, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system may be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions accountable for their crimes and indifference can provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Frequently, victims can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case might be filed where the survivor can remain anonymous.
Abusive Behavior All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory methods which are commonly referred to as grooming, targeting a potential abuse victim. Below is a survey of grooming actions used by predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate child.
Grooming Grooming is a major part of a predator’s strategy. In a religious setting, the priest is revered as God’s representative. In clergy lawsuit California , the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and situations. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust A predator will first work to gain the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as church communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can pretend sincere interest in the child’s wellness and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential child-victim and oftentimes their family members, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for any need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim may devote increased time with the predator, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive presents from the priest, including valuable, intangible gifts like blessings and special recognition. Isolation As the grooming escalates, the predator may try to isolate the possible victim. This could result in individual counseling sessions, meals or other forms of one-on-one isolated encounters. Sexualization The predator will start to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to contact, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with suggestive messages to determine the victim’s response to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature. Maintenance As the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to keep control of the child and the continuing interaction. The priest may likely seek to manipulate the victim by continuing to make the target feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the victim by whatever means needed to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the victim can be overwhelming and life-altering. Many priest assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the abuse including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems establishing and keeping healthy relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Assault can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to shield the child from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its method of reviewing and resolving to reports of abuse. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.
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