Press release

THE SPIRIT WITHIN –  PRESS RELEASE 

It is a year since the Papal visit.  Nothing of note appears to have been done to address religious sexual abuse (RSA).  One in Four decided to take action by writing a companion book to The Warrior Within: -

A new One in Four handbook written by leading authority on sexual abuse and domestic violence by author and One in Four Trustee, Christiane Sanderson “The Spirit Within” a handbook to aid recovery from religious abuse across all faiths is a unique publication with compassionate aims. 

It is a handbook to guide those who have experienced RSA towards healing; it is a description of the extent and the nature of the impact on survivors; it encourages awareness and understanding for both religious institutions and survivors so that a culture of empathic, open listening can develop. It is also an invaluable source book for counsellors and therapists.

“The Spirit Within” is a way forward for both survivors and

religious institutions to heal from the devastating effects of

religious sexual abuse in a compassionate way.

ENDS

Background for journalists: -

It is a year since the Papal visit.  Nothing of note appears to have been done to address religious sexual abuse.  One in Four decided to take action and commission  “The Spirit Within” a handbook to aid recovery from religious abuse across all faiths

There has been no national enquiry in England and Wales.   In Ireland, a number of enquiries and reports detail extensive child abuse and sexual abuse by clergy (paedophilia).  Troublingly, the recent Cloyne Report indicates that the procedures put in place by the Catholic Church are not being adhered to – that the RC church is obstructing  the implementation of its own procedures and policies up to as high a level as the Vatican.  One way forward to restore faith and trust in religious institutions would be to make reporting of RSA a mandatory statutory requirement, with failure to comply resulting in criminal prosecution and custodial sentencing.

The most powerful instrument for healing is listening empathically. The better RSA is understood by religious institutions and faith communities the more healing and necessary changes can take place.   For faith communities, there is a huge cost to RSA – a decrease in worshippers, reduced church attendance and a drop in those choosing a religious vocation.

The scale of the problem is difficult to assess for many reasons, but principally because the faith institutions tend to keep silent, fail to believe the victim, or opt for denial.  It is estimated in the UK there are hundreds of thousands of direct victims many of whom do not disclose for an average of 18 – 30 years.  Female victims disclose less readily and later than male victims. Some never disclose and take this shameful secret to the grave, often through suicide.  

In the US, it has been suggested that the proportion of sexually abusive Catholic priests may be as high as 9%.  The book examines the landscape of the abuser. 

What are the factors associated with abusers? Such as  why do they abuse?  Sexual suppression, psychosexual immaturity, and a history of childhood sexual abuse, as well as a range of psychological and personality disturbances such as narcissism and sense of entitlement, often supported by clericalism and systemic factors within religious institutions.

Some abusers mask their narcissistic traits through altruistic, self- sacrificing behaviour which ensures that their duplicity goes undetected.   When narcissism masquerades as altruism, abusers can adopt a ‘double life’ in which they feel that they are owed by others and society for the sacrifices they have made. This can lead to an inflated sense of entitlement in which sex, and in particular sexual abuse, becomes  a modulator for anger, hostility and an insatiable need for power.  Often unquestioning obedience is exerted by threatening fear of spiritual punishment in this or an afterlife.

As the routes to recovery and healing are increasingly understood, what has to be first overcome for survivors of RSA is the particularly potent loss of faith, belief in a higher being, in spirituality in general.  There is so often a loss of  meaning and purpose in life.

Until we know the extent of the problem, we cannot begin to heal our society from this invisible trauma.   And until victims know they can come forward, trusting in a social structure which is one of supportive listening, then many if not most will remain silent.

For further information or interviews please contact director@oneinfour.org.uk