Clergy Abuse comprises a wide-range of illegal and unacceptable actions often commited on children and tweens by pedophilic clergy or other church members involving sexual assault of varying degrees. The sexual assault may be a one-off, non-consensual scroll barevent or it might include numerous acts inside an ongoing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” relationship with a child created by the predatory behavior of a clergy associate, blanketed by the trust and respect provided to a priest, leading to non-consensual sexual assault acts of molestation.
In nearly all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the failure by the Church member’s employer to fully, adequately and promptly report the offense to law enforcement and other authorities, or the further failure to investigate, address and resolve fully with the occurrence increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Church Sexual Abuse cases reported in the media highlight these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the perpetrator oftentimes a clergy in the Catholic Church, is quietly re-assigned from one parish to another only to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an unaware parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Retribution Not a day passes without a media announcement coverage about sexual assault and molestation of young children by predator clergy, or the legacy of the assault on the survivors and their families. If you are a victim of sexual abuse from a priest or other clergy member, these articles are most likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, embarrassment, guilt and other unwelcome feelings hurting your well-being. Encouraged by the social movement and other channels that encourage them to disclose the abuse they suffered, survivors of abuse are increasingly employing the legal system to compensate them for the lifetime damage and injury they have suffered.
If you are a victim of abuse commited by a member of the clergy, the impact of the abuse on your life and core belief system can be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible priest and institutions to blame for their crimes and indifference might provide an amount of justice and recompense to assault survivors. Frequently, survivors can assert their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is required, a case can be filed where the plaintiff can remain anonymous.
Abusive Behavior All predators, to varying amounts, employ predatory methods which are commonly known as grooming, focusing on a potential assault victim. Following is a list of grooming behaviors used by predators who are in a position of authority in relation to the subordinate child.
Grooming Grooming is a significant piece of a predator’s strategy. In a religious environment, the clergy member is viewed as God’s representative. Within this environment, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, understanding each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and situations. Once a victim is identified, these vulnerabilities – such as tumultuous family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust An assaulter will initially try to gain the child’s trust. This strategy is most difficult to notice as church communities are often tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the assaulter can feign genuine concern in the child’s wellness and development – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator establishes a trusting relationship with the potential victim and oftentimes their family members, the child will start to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The child will devote more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In priest abuse California to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive presents from the predator, including valuable, intangible presents such as blessings and special recognition. Isolation While grooming escalates, the predator may try to isolate the possible target. This could result in individual counseling sessions, meals or various methods of one-on-one isolated moments. Sexualization The predator might start to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may start with crossing 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 Once the sexual relationship is established, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continued interaction. The predator may likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will keep exploiting the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood assault on the victim can be severe and life-changing. Several clergy assault survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and difficulty establishing and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized therapy and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a survivor of Clergy Sexual Abuse may gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more frequently, from the religious organization for its failure to shield the child from the abuse, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and responding to reports of assault. If you are a survivor of Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are ready to talk with you.
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