WASHINGTON (DC)
PBS NewsHour
June 12, 2019
The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., with nearly 15 million members. Now, it’s facing a reckoning over allegations of sex abuse and concealment revealed by a Houston Chronicle investigation. Judy Woodruff speaks to Rachael Denhollander, a survivor of sexual abuse both by the church and Larry Nassar, about her optimism for the forthcoming reforms.
Judy Woodruff:
With nearly 15 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. Now it is facing a reckoning of its own over sexual abuse.
A Houston Chronicle investigation found hundreds of clergy or staff allegedly committed abuse or misconduct over two decades. This week, delegates of Southern Baptist churches approved changes for the first time to make it easier to expel churches that cover up sexual abuse cases.
Rachael Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse Larry Nassar. He’s the former sports doctor at Michigan State University who was convicted of assaulting multiple girls and women.
Denhollander spoke at the convention on a panel with fellow sexual abuse survivors and is on the denomination’s sex abuse study group. She is also the author of “What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics.”
Rachael Denhollander, thank you very much for being with us.
So, you — we know now that the church has made these changes. You have been talking to a number of survivors. I want to understand what your sense is of just how widespread this abuse was.
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