|
Researcher Response
Domestic violence is many things: a destroyer of families, a murderer of adults and children, and a training ground for future violence that will manifest in many venues. One aspect of DV that is not commonly recognized is the crisis in faith that many victims experience when they turn to their religion and their faith leaders for help and guidance only to be told that their faith’s teachings either tacitly condone the violence, fail to condemn the violence, or require that they continue to tolerate the violence. The spiritual wilderness in which some victims and their children must wander before finding the sanctuary they so richly deserve would daunt even the most devout of believers. If DV is not stopped it may eventually separate a victim from God. It can interfere with the victim’s faith, the victim’s belief, the victim’s worship, and the victim’s prayer life. Until faith leaders recognize that DV is not just about physical, sexual and emotional violence, but also about spiritual violence, faith communities may not recognize the critical role they can and must play in DV prevention and intervention. Building partnerships between faith leaders and secular DV service providers that are aimed at stopping DV represents an important first step toward a world in which the peacemakers are truly blessed.
Alison Snow Jones, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Social Sciences & Health Policy
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Researcher Response
Domestic violence results when one person tries to control his (and sometimes her) partner by any means, which could be anything from damaging personal property and pets to threatening and hurting the partner. It has, at times, led to murder. In my research with African American clergy, several expanded the definition of partner violence to include repeat adultery. One pastor describes why:
The kind of horrific effect it has on them in terms of the suffered damage and the fact that they find themselves, interestingly enough, very powerless to get out of that kind of relationship, in the same way that people who are in the physical violence are powerless to get out of that experience. Pastor G
When trying to address partner violence among religious couples, especially in the African American community, it is helpful for community mental health organizations to build partnerships with the churches and especially get to know the church leadership. While it is true that many survivors may have encountered responses within their churches that didn’t feel supportive, not all church leaders are unsupportive. Get to know the church leaders to understand their perspectives regarding partner violence and what they have already done that may have been helpful. It may be that the leader is very willing to support the survivor and had already taken helpful action before another community mental health worker became involved.
Jacqueline Dyer, PhD Candidate, Social Work
Boston College, Boston, MA
|
|
