Victims of domestic violence face abuse alone, and with few resources to go to, many are isolated from the community around them. In many stories of domestic violence and abuse, faith plays a major role, both as a mechanism abusers use to justify and manipulate their victims, but also as a resource for victims to seek help in their situations. Religious leaders and faith spaces can be a key component in breaking the vicious cycle for victims of domestic violence and abuse.
Commonly, when a spouse is being domestically abused, their abuser will isolate them from other contacts and social settings. Though isolation from the church, temple, mosque, or other places of worship is rare, giving victims access to these safe spaces and to their religious leader plays an integral part in stopping the pattern of abuse.
Religious spaces do not necessarily provide victims with all the resources that are essential to handle their situation, but rather act as “first responders” for the victims. This includes listening to them and being believers in their stories, assessing the danger and urgency of the situation for both the victim and other people who could be affected in the situation, and referring the victim to the counseling or services they may need (1). According to Ally Kern, a survivor of domestic abuse and Adjunct Professor of Practical Theology at Azusa Pacific University in California, most Christian survivors of domestic violence and abuse reveal their experiences to their pastor, and mainly only to their pastor (2). This exemplifies the importance and role of religious leaders in knowing how to respond to such revelations and provide victims with the proper resources and responses necessary to help them seek adequate assistance.
In other situations, rather than seeking out a faith leader for immediate assistance, victims may come to faith leaders for spiritual guidance and mental support (3). In these cases, faith leaders have the ability to help defend victims by guiding them with the scripture or passages from their holy books or sacred texts, respectively. This includes working to make congregations and places of worship safe spaces for survivors. Faith spaces should include a thick network of relationships, which includes nourishment and encouragement of one another’s spiritual needs. This also involves intentional leadership to make a congregation a welcoming place and know the signs and resources available for domestic violence victims.
Many organizations have worked to help educate and prepare religious leaders in supporting victims of abuse. For example, Jewish Women International partnered with Jewish Community Centers nationwide to educate religious leaders in both places of worship and preschools and day camps on the signs and ways to combat domestic violence (4). In the Muslim community, the Peaceful Families Project teaches faith leaders and middle school to college level-aged students instruction on domestic violence. The organization translates tools used by counselors to assist victims into tools specific to Muslims (5). Catholics For Family Peace is an organization that provides educational resources and research to combat intimate partner violence and help Catholics understand and promote peace within families and proper responses to domestic abuse (6). They aim to help Catholics respond with compassion to domestic abuse victims in accord with Gospel values. The #FaithsAgainstDomesticAbuse campaign was started by numerous religious groups during the COVID-19 pandemic as a response to the rise in domestic violence during the lockdown. It is a multi-faith social media campaign to bring awareness to domestic abuse and highlight the issue in multiple faith communities (7).
During the rise of domestic violence at the beginning of the pandemic lockdown, Pope Francis reminded us to stand behind the victims of domestic violence, stating that abusers are engaging in an act that is “almost satanic” (8) (9). In all religious communities, there was a surge in calls for help, and a corresponding response in return. While there is still much work to be done to equip religious leaders with the proper resources to help victims, they still play a major role in helping stop the course of abuse. Not only can scripture be utilized to break this vicious cycle, but so can the people of faith sharing those messages and resources.
Author: Sascha Shroff
(1)https://www.usccb.org/topics/marriage-and-family-life-ministries/when-i-call-help-pastoral-response-domestic-violence
(2)https://reflections.yale.edu/article/sex-gender-power-reckoning/role-pastors-vital-link-stopping-domestic-violence-ally-kern
(3)https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Domestic_Violence_Guidebook_for_Faith_Leaders.pdf
(4)https://www.deseret.com/faith/2021/11/28/22787870/how-faith-communities-are-addressing-domestic-violence-catholic-muslim-jewish-family-resources
(5)Ibid.
(6)http://www.catholicsforfamilypeace.org/about.html
(7)http://faithsforum.com/faithsagainstdomesticabuse-awareness-campaign/
(8)https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/posts/religious-responses-to-domestic-abuse-during-the-covid-19-pandemic
(9)https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-12-19/domestic-violence-against-women-almost-satanic-pope-francis-says