It's shameful that in the church, those who want to pursue justice for victims have an ungodly standard placed upon them to be considered trustworthy. One slight misstep, one word said out of turn, one phrase misinterpreted is used as the lynchpin by detractors.
All the while those who are engaging in abuse are given huge leeway for their "indiscretions" and "mistakes," and second chances become fifteenth chances.
We have created and maintain a standard of a perfect victim and a perfect advocate. Instead of recognizing that ongoing
We have created and maintain a standard of a perfect victim and a perfect advocate. Instead of recognizing that ongoing
trauma in a victim's life has ongoing repercussions and expressions, we wrongfully chalk them up to be unreliable, untrustworthy, and divisive because they don't fit within the paradigm of perfection. Instead of walking with victims and caring for them as they need, we end up
perpetuating a culture of silence and fear, where victims have to live in the darkness and shame.
It cannot be said too often - false accusations of abuse are so rare that they are statistically insignificant. To not listen and believe in an accusation of abuse is to not only
It cannot be said too often - false accusations of abuse are so rare that they are statistically insignificant. To not listen and believe in an accusation of abuse is to not only
standing on the side of statistical improbability, but it is almost assuredly standing against Jesus' heart for the broken, bruised, and beaten.
Believe victims, not because they have proved themselves to be perfect without a shadow of the doubt, but because
Believe victims, not because they have proved themselves to be perfect without a shadow of the doubt, but because
the act of them coming forward is testimony in and of itself of the veracity of their account. They have everything to lose when they come forward with their story of abuse and nothing to gain. These are the same standards by which we hold the testimony of the early church
as trustworthy - because no one in their right minds would willingly place themselves in harm's way for a lie about a God who died and came back to life. The fact that they risked everything with nothing to gain demonstrates to us that they were committed to the truth over all.
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