Priest Sexual Abuse includes a wide-range of illegal and unacceptable acts frequently commited against children and tweens by pedophilic priests or other church employees involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The assault may be a one-time, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may involve numerous assaults inside an ongoing interaction. For instance, an ongoing “trusting” relationship with a young child created by the predatory behavior of a church associate, cloaked with the trust and respect imputed to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual assault acts of molestation.
Within all claimed Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse scenarios, the short-coming by the Church member’s employer to fully, adequately and promptly report the offense to police and other authorities, or the further failure to investigate, contend with and deal entirely with the occurrence amplifies the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and potentially others. Current Clergy Sexual Assault cases covered in the press highlight these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” situations where the perpetrator commonly a priest in the Catholic Church, is quietly moved from one parish to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an unaware parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Assault and Justice Not a week passes without a news announcement coverage about sexual abuse and molestation of children by pedophile priests, or the effects of the assault on the survivors and their families. If you are a victim of sexual abuse from a priest or other church member, these reports are most likely to act as an echo chamber, reverberating the horror, shame, guilt and other unwelcome emotions hurting your wellness. Encouraged by the societal movement and other channels that encourage them to disclose the abuse they suffered, survivors of abuse are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the life-long damage and injury they have experienced.
If you are a survivor of assault commited by a priest, the result of the abuse on your life and core belief system can be incalculable. Regardless, holding the responsible clergy and institutions accountable for their crimes and indifference might provide an amount of justice and recompense to abuse victims. Frequently, survivors can leverage their legal rights through confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. However, if litigation is required, a motion might be filed where the survivor can remain anonymous.
Predatory Behavior All abusers, to varying degrees, employ predatory tricks that are generally referred to as grooming, aiming at a potential abuse victim. Following is a survey of grooming behaviors 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 ploy. In a church environment, the priest is revered as God’s representative. In this environment, the predator frequently works closely with small amounts of children, understanding each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a victim is located, these vulnerabilities – like tumultuous family setting, isolation, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – can 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 frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the predator can pretend genuine interest in the child’s wellbeing and groeth – both emotional and religious.
Reliance As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential target and oftentimes their family members, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for whatever need it is that the priest is exploiting and fulfilling. The child may spend more time with the priest, feeling more comfortable with the relationship and counting on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the possible target might receive gifts from the predator, including valuable, intangible gifts such as blessings and special recognition. Isolation As the grooming progresses, the predator may try to isolate the possible victim. This may result in solo counseling meetings, meals or various forms of one-on-one isolated moments. abused in church might start to de-sensitize the target from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with crossing the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to determine the victim’s reaction to the progression. This will escalate until the relationship advances 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 continued interaction. The predator may likely seek to manipulate the child by continuing to make the target feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the victim by whatever means necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The effect of childhood abuse on the victim can be severe and life-altering. Many priest 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 creating and maintaining vibrant relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can assist survivors overcome these effects.
Legally, a survivor of Priest Sexual Abuse can recover financial compensation from the abuser and, more frequently, from the church for its failure to shield the victim from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. 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 speak with you.
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