15 Years Later: Where Have We Come In Addressing IPV in Faith - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

15 Years Later: Where Have We Come In Addressing IPV in Faith Communities? Ron Clark Agape Church of Christ

www.agapecoc.com “Need More” “Intimate Partner Violence Resources”

In the Beginning…

Problem – Clergy were uninformed and unprepared to help families in IPV – Results – Women sent back to abuser – Victim Blaming – No Divorce – Siding with the Abuser

WHAT DID WE DO? • Trainings • Services • Education • Collaboration

ISSUES WE FACED • Resistance to addressing abuse • Forgiveness vs Repentance (siding with the bully) • Embracing the power and control wheel • Growth of grass roots groups within faith communities and those outside faith groups • Allowing us to do the work • Rethinking our faith, theology, and practice

How We Did It  ARMS, NW Family Life, CADV, Faith Trust Institute, PASCH  Seminaries  Writing, publishing, collaboration with other agencies ◦ Local non-profit ◦ Government ◦ Academic Communities  “Sandals on the Ground” = found others doing the same things

Where Are We Now? We Know That People Are Aware!

Where Are We Now? We Know That People Are Aware! But…

Change Is Happening?  Sojourners and Back 2 School Campaign/seminaries  Faith Trust Institute/NW Family Life  Academic Arena — publications, presentations, cross-disciplines  Area Domestic Violence Trainings for Clergy = Large number of advocates and collaboration  ARMS, Marriage Team, Individual Counselors, Area Seminaries  Collaboration/Partnerships

I BELIEVE NONE OF THESE THINGS WOULD HAVE OCCURRED A COUPLE DECADES AGO AND EACH REFLECTS AN INCREASED AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF DV AS WELL AS A WILLINGNESS TO ACTIVELY INTERVENE WITH IT. SO WHILE THERE IS CERTAINLY MUCH MORE WORK TO BE DONE, THERE HAS CERTAINLY BEEN A POSITIVE SHIFT. DR. CHRIS HUFFINE, ALLIES IN CHANGE

We have been invited to be a part of a lot of different committees. Yet, being a faith based organization, we have experience a negative bias which has affected referrals to our agency. This is with both our free recovery and our intervention services. Obviously, this is not everyone but we hear from clients that community partners have tried to discourage them from coming to us even when the client had requested ARMS. Stacey Womack, ARMS

Rethinking Our Theology

TENSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIONS  Working with marriages, divorce, and reconciliation  Limits of orthodoxy — orthopraxis and associated issues  Diversity within faith communities  Victim or Survivor?  Listening to females and vulnerable others

Future Issues to Address  Misogyny —not just hatred of females…  Theology of Repentance and Healthy Forgiveness  Healthy Relationships not just “Abuse”  Intersection of Sex Industry/trafficking, gendered violence, misogyny, pornography, etc ….  Counter-cultural views of males, masculinity, boys, and spirituality  A more “prophetic” stance against IPV

“I feel like we have been doing this long enough that we are getting the next generation coming to us .” Stacey Womack, ARMS

How? Collaborate… Collaborate… Collaborate… Collaborate…

15 Years Later: Where Have We Come With Addressing IPV in Faith Communities? Ron Clark rclark@agapecoc.com Agape Church of Christ