Honouring Your Pain

'...[T]he chief contribution Christians can make is to keep people from suffering for the wrong reasons. We can 'honour' pain...the first step in helping a suffering person is to acknowledge that pain is valid and worthy of a sympathetic response'.

Philip Yancey (2000) Where Is God When It Hurts? 

 

 

Christian Action on Sexual Abuse is an organisation, God willing,  being developed to promote a Biblical understanding and response to sexual abuse. This page presents Statements of Need, Mission and Faith. If you are interested in helping with this work please see the link at the bottom of this page.

 

Council of Reference: Reverend Green (Pastor), Dr Kefas (Paediatrician), S. Stephen (Lecturer) and A Williams (Barrister)

 

 

 

The Problem

In England and Wales the extent of sexual violence is documented within statistics on officially recorded crime (that reported and recorded) and in the national victimisation survey, the British Crime Survey. In England and Wales, in the year ending March 2008, there were 53,540 sexual offences officially recorded. According to the British Crime Survey in 2002, 9% of women were subject to some form of sexual assault. 4% had been raped which amounted to 61,000 female victims. The level of validity of these statistics is problematic given that sexual violence is known to be under-reported. Whilst the validity of the figures emerging from the British Crime Survey is higher because it includes crimes experienced but never reported, it is thought that even in the context of this victimisation survey, sexual violence is under-reported due to its particular sensitivity. Information regarding the extent of sexual abuse and exploitation can also, however, be gained from organisations involved in supporting victims. Mankind (2009), for example, a charity established to help male victims, suggests that up to three in twenty men are affected by sexual violence. Rape Crisis reports that one in seven married women has been forced to have sex with their husband.

Existing Support

In the UK, Rape Crisis co-ordinates a network of Rape Crisis Centres aimed at women and girls who have experienced not only rape but an array of sexual intimidation and violence.  It is a self proclaimed feminist organisation (Rape Crisis, 2009). Research into the nature and consequences of female sexual assault in the UK is dominated by organisations whose premise is that sexual assault is linked, not to the fallen nature of humankind, but rather to the patriarchal nature of society-a patriarchal structure often considered to be wrongly reproduced by Christian belief and subject therefore to challenge. For example, The Child and Women’s Abuse Studies Unit at London Metropolitan University has as its first listed objective the development of ‘feminist theory and practice’ (CWASU, 2009). Existing organisations and centres of research have undoubtedly brought real benefits in terms of support and revealing the extent of the problem. However, ideologically and practically they represent a challenge to and distortion of Biblical truth. In the context of no clear Christian voice and practical response to sexual abuse, their domination is unsurprising

 

The Christian Community

There is no UK based Christian organisation dedicated to responding to the problem of the sexual abuse of adults in a manner which reflects the truth of God’s Word. This absence may reflect simple ignorance regarding the extent of abuse and exploitation. More likely, it may reflect a sense that such darkness should remain ‘unsaid’ and this in turn may express a wariness of speaking of sexual behaviour.  In Ephesians Paul wrote that ‘...it is shameful to even speak of the things that they do in secret’ (5:12). However, God made all things (Colossians 1:16), which by definition are therefore good (1 Timothy 4:4) and put all things under His control (Ephesians 1:22). According to John Piper in Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (2005):

 

Shame can be both healthy and shame can be sinful...proper shame can easily morph into improper embarrassment and an unhealthy reticence to apply the whole counsel of God to an issue of paramount significance.

 

Sexual relations can be both pure and impure according to whether or not they are conducted within the prescriptions and prohibitions of scripture. Sexual abuse violates these prohibitions. Christians have rightly been concerned with revealing the love of Christ and his offer of eternal salvation to those who are made in the image of God and who suffer as a consequence of the Fall; such suffering is expressed in things such as war, poverty, social deprivation, abortion, slavery and broken families. CASA is an attempt to draw greater attention to a less spoken area of the world’s darkness: it equally needs the Light of Christ.  

 

 

Mission: An Introduction

 

 

CASA is fundamentally concerned with sharing the Gospel with adults who have suffered sexual abuse and informing and equipping the church to understand and to respond to victims.

 

 

 

Christians are called to be light in a dark world. In the UK Christian community there is an apparent silence concerning the part of this dark world where the God-given gift of sex is warped beyond description, to the gratification of some and the emotional, physical and social destruction of others. Sexual abuse can be defined as any activity of a sexual nature imposed upon others without their consent or understanding. Men and women who suffer sexual abuse turn to secular organisations for help; female rape victims turn to organisations founded upon feminist ideology because there is nowhere and no one else to turn to. Christian victims may likewise find it difficult to gain Biblical direction and support and so may also rely upon secular sources. This area of human pain must be reached with the light of the Gospel and God’s voice on such matters promoted. 

 

 

 

We are called to defend the oppressed and in doing so to share the Good News that there is One who heals beyond the physical and emotional scars, who heals our very souls so that we may enter a proper relationship with our maker (Mark 2:1-12).  The vision of CASA is rooted in a conviction that scripture teaches the need to proclaim the Gospel and to reveal the truth and power of this Gospel in the person of Jesus Christ through exercising kindness, loving justice and defending the oppressed (Matthew 5:16; James 2:18).

 

 

 

 

 

Mission Statement

 

 

CASA’s mission is to advance a Biblical perspective and response to sexual abuse so that the saving, transforming and healing power of Jesus Christ be proclaimed.

 

 

  

 

Vision

 

CASA’s vision is to develop a national network of Christian support for victims of sexual abuse. Aid will be presented through online, telephone and literature sources.  

 

 

CASA will support the church, via centralised information and support resources, in understanding the nature, frequency and consequences of   sexual abuse so that it might support both Christian and non-Christian victims.

 

 

CASA will work, where appropriate, with other Christian organisations, nationally and internationally, to promote the saving and healing power of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

 

Statement of Faith 

There is only one God. He is the sole Creator and Sustainer of the universe and exists in three equal but distinctive persons, namely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Men and women are created in the image of God and therefore have equal dignity and worth. Human nature has, however, been corrupted through sin which is inherent since the Fall. People are therefore not in a right relationship with God. All are therefore condemned because the holiness of   God demands a righteous response to sin. The fundamental need of all persons is to be reconciled with God. For this to happen they need to be born again through the power of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin, lived a sinless life. He was God in flesh. He willingly died in the flesh on the cross, bearing the sins of the whole world. The wrath of God the Father was laid upon him so that all who would believe would be reconciled to the Father and saved from the consequences of His wrath. God calls people to himself, giving them faith in the saving work of Christ. Therefore, salvation is totally undeserved; it is an act demonstrating God’s Grace to humankind.

Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the power of God. He ascended to heaven in His resurrected physical body. The Holy Spirit was sent to glorify Christ by bringing salvation to sinners through convicting them of their sin and revealing the truth about Christ.

Jesus Christ will return again to earth. He will judge the world, sending those who have not accepted the offer of free salvation to hell. Those who have believed and trusted in Christ for salvation will be welcomed into everlasting fellowship with God.

The Bible, whilst written by men, was inspired by God. It is totally reliable in all matters of faith and conduct.