Clergy Abuse encompasses a range of illegal and improper actions commonly perpetrated on children and tweens by pedophilic clergy or other church employees involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The assault might be a single, non-consensual scroll barevent or it might include several acts within an ongoing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a child spawned by the predatory behavior of a church member, cloaked by the trust and reverence imputed to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.
Within all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the short-coming by the Church member’s employer to entirely, adequately and promptly report the offense to law enforcement and other authorities, or its further failure to research, contend with and deal fully with the occurrence amplifies the effects on the assault survivor, the community and possibly others. Recent Priest Sexual Abuse cases reported in the media highlight these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the predator commonly a priest in the Catholic Church, is silently transferred from one location to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an innocent parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse & Justice Not a day passes without a media headline reporting about sexual assault and molestation of young children by predator priests, or the aftermath of the assault on the victims and their families. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these reports are likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and various unwanted feelings staining your well-being. Encouraged by the societal movement and other channels that encourage victims to disclose the abuse they experienced, survivors of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifelong damage and injury they have experienced.
If you are a victim of assault commited by a member of the church, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system may be immeasurable. Regardless, holding clergy lawsuit Rhode Island and institutions accountable for their crimes and failures might provide a measure of justice and recompense to abuse survivors. Frequently, victims can leverage their legal rights in confidential mediation therein avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is necessary, a motion might be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior All abusers, to varying amounts, use predatory tricks that are generally referred to as grooming, targeting a potential assault victim. Below is a list of grooming actions exhibited by predators who are in a position of authority relative to the subordinate young child.
Grooming Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s strategy. In a church environment, the clergy member is revered as God’s representative. In this setting, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, understanding each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and situations. Once a target is located, these vulnerabilities – such as violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – may be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust An assaulter will first work to gain the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to discern as church communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the priest can pretend sincere concern in the child’s wellbeing and groeth – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for any need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim may spend more time with the predator, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential target may 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 potential victim. This might mean individual counseling sessions, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated moments. Sexualization The predator may start to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This could begin with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to determine the victim’s reaction 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 work to keep control over the child and the continued interaction. The predator will likely seek to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever methods necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood abuse on the survivor can be overwhelming and life-changing. Many clergy assault survivors suffer from lifelong effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty creating and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can help survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Clergy Sexual Assault can recover financial compensation from the predator and, more frequently, from the church for its failure to protect the victim from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding 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 ready to talk with you.
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