Fact Sheet and Action Guide: Sexual Abuse of Women by Clergy

Sexual abuse of female parishioners by clergy is extremely prevalent problem.

• A study by Dr. Pamela Cooper-White of The Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, estimates that more than 95% of clergy sexual abuse victims are women.
• A study conducted in 1993 by the Journal of Pastoral Care demonstrated that "14% of Southern Baptist pastors responding to a survey admitted to inappropriate sexual contact with a congregant; in the same survey 70% of respondents said they had knowledge of another minister who had sexual contact with a congregant." (source)
• In his book "Sex, Priests, and Power," a therapist and former Benedictine monk, A. W. Richard Sipe, reports that at any one time up to 20% of priests are involved in sexual relationships with women in their congregation.
• Most recent study, conducted by Baylor University researchers in 2008-2009, revealed that "one in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader" (source).

Sexual relations between clergy and congregation members is an abuse of power. Clergy members use the trust invested in them by their female charges to manipulate and coerce women into having sexual intercourse. Such relations have a damaging effect on women's psychological well-being and personal relationships.

• Abusers use their position of authority for sexual grooming of women.
  For example, Rev. Thomas Szydlik, used information he learned during confessions to seduce his parishioner. Holly Force was having marital problems, and according to the Madison Record, "she also suffered from a severe medical condition which exacerbated those problems." Madison Record reports that:

  Szydlik developed a scheme to make every effort to get [Force] further involved in church activities and during those instances would "continuously bring up Holly's personal situation and seek deeper engagement with her" and encouraged her to confide in and trust him.

  
  When Force became pregnant with Szydlik's child, he coerced her into having an abortion (source).
• Furthermore, "the primarily psychological nature of such assaults confuses the victim's own understanding of whether he or she 'consented' to the sexual relations" (source)
  Such was the case with Carolyn Waterstradt, who stated that her pastor of 10 years told her that "[their] relationship was ordained by God" and "[she] believed him because [she] was looking for direction and for help." (source).
• Sexual violation by a member of the clergy (or any other caregiver in a position of authority) can leave a victim without the ability to trust any helping professional.
• Societal myths like "she asked for it" reduce the ability of those close to the victim to validate the trauma of the sexual violation.
• Societal myths like it's an "affair" cause marital discord if the woman is married; many marriages end in divorce as a result of sexual violation by clergy.

The majority of sexual abuse by clergy goes unreported. Often this occurs because survivors are either pressured into silence by their churches and religious communities, or ignored altogether. Furthermore, religious institutions often fail to appropriately punish the offending clergy members and sometimes go so far as to try and cover up the abuse.

• For instance, Pat Bond had a child with Rev. Henry Willenborg, and in order to receive child support, Bond had to sign a confidentiality agreement dictating that if she breached the agreement she would be required to pay a penalty. Furthermore, the church took little disciplinary action against Willenborg, who reportedly began having sexual contact with another woman when she was still in high school (which, depending upon the age of the student, could have been statutory rape in addition to misconduct). (source)
• In Baltimore, complaints against a prominent rabbi, Jacob Max, who sexually harassed numerous women, were ignored by victims' parents and the community at large. While Baltimore's Jewish community had been aware for some time of Max's abuses, no action was taken until recently. In fact, when one of the victims made a complaint against Max, she was fired from her job at the synagogue, and her children were pulled from Hebrew school. (source)

Act now and help to end clergy abuse. The National Organization for Women passed a resolution in 2009 calling for criminalization of sexual exploitation of women by the clergy. Here are some things you can do to help:

• Learn more about ending violence against women, or learn more about clergy sexual abuse.
• Advocate for policy change by finding out if your state has "fiduciary duty" laws. These laws criminalize sexual relationships between licensed caregivers and their clients. Urge your legislators to establish such laws and/or add clergy to fiduciary duty laws.
• Contact your state and local chapter of NOW to encourage advocacy at the state level to establish fiduciary duty laws or to add clergy to existing fiduciary duty laws. Cite examples of state criminal statutes regarding clergy sexual relations with congregants and state fiduciary duty laws.
• Volunteer at your local sexual abuse crisis center to assist the survivors.
• As a member of a church, you can urge that a clear policy against clergy sexual misconduct be adopted and that prevention strategies be developed along with programs of support for survivors and their families. Such measures can be advanced in your denomination's governing body so that it applies to all member churches.