NASHVILLE (TN)
Ethics Daily
February 15, 2019
By Christa Brown
A 16-year-old girl was groomed and manipulated into an abusive “relationship” by the youth pastor of her evangelical church. When the truth came to light, she was shamed, blamed and silenced. The pastor continued in ministry.
This is the story of Emily Joy, co-creator of the #ChurchToo Twitter hashtag.
It’s also my story.
And it’s the story of thousands of others who have recounted similar church-based traumas under the still-exploding #ChurchToo hashtag.
Inspired by the #MeToo movement, Emily Joy and Hannah Paasch launched #ChurchToo as a way to provide a space for long-silenced people to share their stories of sexual abuse in evangelical churches.
And the stories have indeed flooded forth, not only from women but also from men, telling of the abuse they suffered as church kids.
Such an outpouring stands as a collective testament to a chilling reality. For decades, evangelical clergy have been sexually abusing women and children, and all the while, other religious leaders have known and turned a blind eye. This has been the status quo.
Many people have tried to shine a light on this systemic problem, but with International Women’s Day (March 8) approaching, my heart is filled with particular gratitude for all the strong women, past and present, who have been sisters-in-arms in what has been a multigenerational effort to try to bring change.
But will change ever get here?
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