title: In their own voices: women who were sexually abused by members of the clergy.
abstract: Women remain perhaps the forgotten majority of persons to survive clergy-perpetrated sexual abuse. The impact of this abuse of women has been largely overlooked. Through a qualitative exploration of narratives from semistructured interviews of 25 women sexually abused by clergy (18 as adults and 7 as children), this study examined how the women experienced symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Consideration is given to clergy-specific factors related to CPSA. Other considerations included intensified captivity experiences for many and extreme isolation related to nonexistent "contexts" for validation and support. A change in personal spirituality among many subjects from structured traditional religious practice to spirituality strongly dependent on interpersonal and relational factors is also considered.
authors.affiliation: Program Evaluation, Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, CA, USA. Kathryn.Flynn@cgu.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Flynn
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D002410:Catholicism; D002977:Clergy; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010378:Pedophilia / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014481:United States