Author: Theresa Harvard Johnson

Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson

Accountability is a trending phrase across the congregation today.

In simple, non-religious terms, it implies that people and organizations should be held responsible for their actions (or lack thereof) and the outcomes of those actions in their lives, the lives of those they impact and in some situations as it relates to society.

This definition, when used in the context of our conversation on “Sexual Assault within the Congregation,” conveys that the congregation as a whole needs to be held accountable. I agree. However the accounts from news outlets in my previous article, “Sexual Assault within the Congregation: For Traditional and Non-traditional Congregations,” continues to reveal that the church has a long way to go in understanding how to properly address the epidemic within its four walls.

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Copyright 2018 Theresa Harvard Johnson
#WeToo #MeToo #clergyabuse #apostolicmentorship

It happens.

A person becomes a part of a congregation, ministry group or enters a mentoring relationship, and find themselves the victim of the most humiliating and misunderstood crime imaginable – sexual assault.

Sexual assault, sometimes referred to as sexual violence, takes on numerous forms. It includes rape, sexual intercourse against a person’s will; forcible sodomy, anal or oral sex against a person’s will; forcible object penetration against a person’s will; fondling or unwanted touching (regardless of how slight); forcing someone to perform sex acts via threats, intimidation or coercion; sexual contact with minors whether consensual or none consensual; and incest, sexual relations between close relatives.[1] Non-contact sexual assault also includes exhibitionism and verbal sexual harassment.[2]

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