Patheos blog
February 19, 2019
By Kristy Burmeister
When we discuss sexual abuse within the church, we usually assume we’re talking about young boys who were sexually abused by priests. There are several other types of victims that don’t get as much attention but have also suffered within our churches.
Last year, when #churchtoo started trending on Twitter, I wondered if I was the “right” kind of victim. I’d certainly been victimized within my church, but not in the way people would immediately assume. I was never sexually assaulted by anyone in church leadership.
There are more kinds of abuse going on within our churches than child sexual abuse.
I see a lot of focus on the abuse of boys within Catholicism, but girls have been sexually abused as well. Nuns have been sexually abused.
Adult men and women have been sexually abused. Priests and other church leaders sometimes use their authority to manipulate adults into sexual relationships. The uneven power dynamic makes these relationships sexually exploitative and abusive.
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