Survivor Sanctuary

Sometimes it feels like the bad guys are winning, like there's nothing we can do to stop predators within the church. It's not like child molesters typically commit their crimes in front of multiple witnesses to make it easy on us. But before you give in to discouragement, there *are* still things that we can do to stop the men and women who wish to harm children. We are not powerless. We discuss on today's episode. BECOME A PATRON OF THE PODCAST! CHECK OUT SURVIVORSANCTUARY.COM

You may have seen the recent video of the Dalai Lama's creepy, disturbing behavior with a young boy. We discuss it, and how he took a page directly from my abuser's playbook, in today's episode. RESOURCES: Dalai Lama Asks Boy to Suck His Tongue BECOME A PATRON!

John MacArthur and Grace Community Church are back in the news for *checks notes* continuing to turn their backs on victims of abuse. While the Church is busy clutching their pearls over Sam Smith's devil costume at the Grammys, these same Christians are giving a pass to MacArthur, whose absolute refusal to show an ounce of humility makes Sam Smith look like the Pope. We chat about it, and Hohn Cho, the Good Samaritan who stood up for victims at great personal sacrifice, in today's episode. RESOURCES: Become a Patron of the Podcast! Grace Church Rejects Calls to Do Justice for Victims Former GCC Elder Confronts 'Awful Patterns' of Endangering Abuse Victims

We've all been told at one point or another to leave the past in the past. But when it comes to sexual abuse, wading through the past is necessary for healing. On today's podcast, we'll discuss why it's important to carefully examine your past to keep it from growing into something unmanageable. Yes, the past can be uncomfortable or scary, but properly examining it can lead to freedom.

In celebration of the 100th episode of the podcast, we're excited to announce that Survivor Sanctuary is now on Patreon! You can become a patron of the podcast starting at $5 per month, and have access to exclusive content and rewards. Your support helps us keep shining a light on sexual abuse in the church, and it also unlocks premium content to help you grow as a survivor/advocate/ally. THANK YOU for your support of this podcast for the last 100 Episodes! RESOURCES: Survivor Sanctuary Patreon Page

Did you hear about the woman who helped take down a child molester she met on Tinder? This story is a great reminder that an abuser can be anyone. We chat about it on today's episode of the podcast. RESOURCES: Woman Uses Tinder to Catch Child Molester

It's cute that the creepy ex youth leader who beat a rap for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor just followed me on Twitter. We chat about it on today's episode.

The Department of Justice is investigating the Southern Baptist Convention for their decades of mishandling sexual abuse allegations. It may be easy to understand why the DOJ is concerned for the welfare of children, but what about the lowest of society's low? In today's episode, we'll chat about why it is that convicts appear to care more about stopping child molesters than our churches do. RESOURCES: Article: Prisoner Beats Two Child Molesters to Death Wife Shoots Husband Who Molested Kids DOJ Is Investigating the Southern Baptist Convention TAGS: church sexual abuse, church abuse, Shanteari Weems, James Weems, Jr., pedophiles, child molesters, victims, prison violence

Is it a trauma response? A mental health disorder? What on earth would cause a mother to stay with and support a man who sexually abuses her kids? It happens more than we care to believe, and on today's episode we try to unpack what's going on when a mom chooses a sexual predator over her kids. ***ALL the trigger warnings***

With all the high-fives flying and churches celebrating in light of the overturning of Roe v. Wade, survivors of sexual abuse in the church may be left scratching their heads. Forgive us if we find the claims that the church cares deeply for the vulnerable disingenuous, but we've been under the table for decades practically begging for scraps of this supposed care and compassion--and we've been ignored or flat out stomped on. On today's episode of the podcast, we'll talk about pro life virtue signaling, and sit with a simple question: If you can't care for the vulnerable survivors who you see, how can you claim to care for the vulnerable unborn who you can't see?

Today on the podcast we continue our chat with Justin Woodbury of the blog and book, Sheltered But Not Protected.  RESOURCES: Sheltered But Not Protected

They say your character is who you are when nobody is watching. So why is it that Christians have so much trouble believing that people caught abusing children are depraved, dangerous and better off in prison? If you've been following the Josh Duggar trial, you may have read the letters that Michelle Duggar, Anna Duggar and Josh's pastor sent to the judge to beg for leniency in sentencing. They listened in court as horrifying details of the sex abuse materials Josh was viewing were recounted, yet still plead for a light sentence based on Josh's "godliness" and Christian character. When Christians are shown someone's true character, why do we have so much trouble believing them? We'll talk it out on today's episode. 

It's always fun when a spiritual leader teaches theology-by-meme on social media. And by fun, I mean obnoxious. There are some quotes and memes floating around on Facebook these days that are aimed at people who apparently don't spend enough time in a church building. And as memes tend to do, they vastly oversimplify what can be a highly complex lived experience for survivors of spiritual, psychological and sexual abuse within the church. On this episode, we'll tackle why a growing number of people no longer feel safe in a church building, and how social media one-liners from "men of God" only serve to further alienate them from the fellowship of believers. Content Warning: In this episode, we discuss sexual abuse, spiritual abuse, church abuse, unsafe pastors, unsafe churches, sexual assault, rape, child molestation

It should be the love and compassion of Christ, a sense of justice and righteousness that compel christian institutions to report, rather than conceal the sexual abuse of minors in their midst. But since that doesn't seem to be working, perhaps the threat of mug shots and orange jumpsuits will do the trick. On this episode we discuss the recent arrests of five administrators at Midland Christian School in Midland, Texas, who allegedly failed to report (and actively worked to conceal) the sexual assault of one of their minor students on school property. We talk about their case, and why it seems personal consequences are much more of a motivating factor than anything else when it comes to christians reporting sexual abuse.

Doctors, Scientists and researchers have long been exploring the link between obesity and childhood sexual abuse. In fact, sexual abuse is now recognized as being a key factor in obesity. The church, as usual, seems to be lagging behind the research. On this episode of the podcast, Kelly opens up about her experience with sexual abuse, trauma related obesity, and why many Christians' misinterpretation of "gluttony" can re-traumatize and further alienate survivors of sexual abuse.  RESOURCES: The Second Assault (Why Victims of Sexual Abuse are More Likely to be Obese) Sexual Abuse and Obesity- What's the Link?