![]() ![]() ![]() She states, “I would suggest that the numbers are higher in ‘closed culture’ churches…because there is no accountability and less conversation/education, not to mention a lot of opportunity (close relationships and frequent interactions).” Metzger says that in her experience, rates of abuse are high in congregations where authority figures control and dominate. Today she counsels sexual abuse victims among the conservative Mennonites, as well as other groups. Trudy Harder Metzger was a child victim of sexual abuse in her Old Colony/conservative Mennonite family. Abuse, like a mushroom, grows in shaded places, on the underside of things. I believe this is to the detriment of those we are trying to protect. Sexual abuse especially is a subject we as conservative Anabaptists almost never talk about in a public setting. Because it so often remains shrouded in silence, the extent of it can be difficult to gauge. Abuse in the church? God forbid! But abuse in the church or among church members does happen. Harder to identify and admit is abuse that happens within our own ranks, with people we know and expect to trust. ![]() Of course those things happen coming from a setting like theirs, we think. ![]() Some have experienced all these forms of abuse. I lead Bible studies for the women at our local jail, and during the course of my ministry, I have come to the conclusion that most of the women there have been abused in some way, whether physically, verbally, or sexually. ![]()
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