Priest Sexual Assault Information
Church Sexual Abuse comprises a range of immoral and improper acts commonly commited on children and adolescents by predatory priests or other church employees involving sexual assault of varying amounts. The assault might be a one-off, non-consensual scroll barevent or it may include numerous assaults inside an ongoing interaction. For instance, a continuing “trusting” interaction with a young child spawned by the predatory behavior of a clergy member, blanketed by the trust and respect imputed to a member of the clergy, leading to non-consensual sexual attack acts of molestation.
In all alleged Priest or Clergy Sexual Abuse situations, the failure by the Clergy member’s employer to fully, adequately and promptly disclose the crime to police and other authorities, or its continuing failure to investigate, contend with and resolve entirely with the occurrence increases the harm on the abuse survivor, the community and possibly others. Recent Church Sexual Abuse cases reported in the press show these short-comings, including “pass-the-trash” scenarios where the predator commonly a clergy in the Catholic Church, is silently moved from one church to another merely to continue his predatory, criminal behavior on an unsuspecting parish community.
Priest and Clergy Sexual Abuse and Retribution
Not a day goes by without a news headline reporting about sexual abuse and molestation of children by predator clergy, or the effects of the assault on the survivors and their families. If you are a victim of sexual assault from a priest or other clergy member, these articles are most likely to serve as an echo chamber, replaying the horror, shame, guilt and various unwelcome feelings hurting your wellness. Encouraged by the societal movement and other pathways that encourage victims to reveal the assault they experienced, survivors of assault are more frequently employing the legal system to compensate them for the life-long damage and injury they have suffered.
If you are a survivor of assault commited by a priest, the impact of the abuse on your life and foundational belief system may be immeasurable. Nonetheless, holding the responsible person and institutions accountable for their crimes and indifference can provide a measure of justice and recompense to abuse survivors. Oftentimes, survivors can leverage their legal rights in confidential mediation thereby avoiding the need for litigation. But, if litigation is required, a case might be filed where the victim can remain anonymous.
Abusive Behavior
All abusers, to varying amounts, use predatory methods which are commonly referred to as grooming, tracking a possible abuse victim. Following is a survey of grooming behaviors exhibited by predators who are in a job of authority in relation to the subordinate young child.
Grooming
Grooming is a major piece of a predator’s ploy. In a religious setting, the priest is viewed as God’s representative. Within this environment, the predator often works closely with small amounts of children, identifying each child’s needs, weaknesses and circumstances. Once a target is located, these vulnerabilities – like violent family setting, loneliness, low self-esteem, emotional neediness, attention-seeking – might be systematically leveraged in the following ways:
Trust
An assaulter will first try to get the child’s trust. This step is most difficult to notice as religious communities are frequently tight-knit and personal interaction with clergy is commonplace. Here, the predator can pretend genuine interest in the child’s wellness and groeth – both emotional and religious.
Reliance
As a predator creates a trusting relationship with the potential child-victim and oftentimes their family, the child will begin to rely more and more on the predator for any need it is that the predator is exploiting and fulfilling. The victim may spend more time with the priest, feeling more and more comfortable with the relationship and relying on its stability and security. In addition to attention and affection, the potential victim might receive presents from the predator, including valuable, intangible presents like blessings and special recognition.
Isolation
While grooming escalates, the predator may try to isolate the potential victim. ron meneo might result in solo counseling sessions, meals or other forms of one-on-one isolated moments.
Sexualization
The predator might begin to de-sensitize the child from reacting negatively to touching, caressing and various behaviors that lead to sexual interaction. This may begin with breaking the physical-touch barrier, or verbally, with inappropriate messages to determine the victim’s response to the progression. This will continue until the relationship gets to one of a physical, sexual nature.
Maintenance
Once the sexual relationship is created, the predator will try to maintain control of the child and the continuing interaction. The predator will likely want to manipulate the child by continuing to make the victim feel special and worthy. The predator will continue to exploit the victim by whatever methods necessary to maintain the immoral physical relationship.
Impact on Clergy Abuse Survivors
The impact of childhood abuse on the victim can be severe and life-changing. Several priest abuse survivors suffer from long-term effects of the assault including depression, disturbed sleeping, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse and eating patterns, and problems establishing and keeping vibrant relationships. Individualized treatment and support groups can help victims overcome these effects.
Legally, a victim of Priest Sexual Abuse may gain financial compensation from the abuser and, more commonly, from the church for its failure to shield the victim from the assault, as well as failures or deficiencies in its process of reviewing and resolving to reports of assault. If you are a victim of Priest or Clergy Sexual Assault and would like to confidentially discuss your situation and your legal options, we are prepared to talk with you.
