Episode 34: Why Do Sexual Abuse Survivors Stay Silent and How Can We Help?

Last weekend Alex Bozarjian, a young news reporter, was smacked on the backside by a man running in a local race. The incident was caught on camera and led to a great outcry across the nation. Women everywhere say they can relate. Also this past week, in a seemingly unrelated story, Christianity Today made their 2020 Book Awards, bestowing the highest honor in the CT Women category to Rachel Denhollander for her book What is a Girl Worth? Bozarjian’s strength and response in the face of one incident, as well as Rachel Denhollander’s strength and response in the face of repeated abuse, have me asking three questions: how is sexual abuse harmful to victims well beyond the initial incident(s), why do survivors remain silent, and how can we in the church help survivors?