Another response that is sometimes seen in the church during allegation of Child Sexual Abuse is the disciplining of the victim, as opposed to the support of the victim. A notable example of this is Tina Anderson, who publicly shared her story. At the age of 16, Tina was raped by a man in her church who was twice her age. Tina became pregnant as a result of the rape. Instead of reprimanding the perpetrator, Tina was forced to confess her sin in front of the entire congregation and was sent thousands of miles away to another family (Goldberg, Deutch, James & Dooley, 2011). Thus, Tina’s story exemplifies a horrific response that some churches towards child sexual abuse- disciplining or blaming the victim for the assault that happened to them. Lack of Penalty for the Perpetrator In a similar manner, with the disciplining of the victim, churches will sometimes respond with inappropriate support for the perpetrator. While the gospel message is one of love and forgiveness, some churches thwart that by not administering any penalty for the perpetrator. For example, in Tina’s case, mentioned above, the person who …show more content…
Other long-term effects of child sexual abuse include depression, substance abuse, low self-esteem, distrust, interpersonal problems, sexual difficulties, suicidal ideations, and self-destructive behavior (Myers, J. E., 2011). Many victims feel that God betrayed them and allowed this trauma to happen to them. These signs of spiritual distress have been linked empirically to increases in anxiety and depression. According to Lawson et al. (1998), studies focusing on religious behavior suggest that some children who have been sexually abusing are less involved in formal religion when they are adults. At the same time, in some cases, the CSA increased the frequency of prayer and of “spiritual experience” and was used as a protective factor (Lawson et al.,