While we're on vacation, here's one of our favorite episodes: "Faith, Trauma, and the Problem of Evil." Many survivors of child sexual abuse struggle with questions of faith: Why did this happen to me? How do I understand what happened to me in the context of my faith? How do I make meaning of these traumatic events going forward? 

While these might sound like strictly theological questions, child abuse professionals respond every day to questions of faith, trauma, and the problem of evil. How do we address with victims, survivors, and the frontline professionals working with them the deep need to make meaning of these traumatic events? We talk to Victor Veith, Director of Education and Research at Zero Abuse Project and a renowned writer and trainer, about the intersection of faith and child protection. How can we help children when they have spiritual questions? And how can we help child protection professionals wrestling with the trauma they bear witness to every day?

This was the second episode of One in Ten. It was originally published on May 13, 2019.

Topics in this episode:

• Origin story (1:35 )
• Faith-related questions in child sexual abuse cases (3:11 )
• Addressing spiritual questions (5:17 )
• Ways to address faith—and barriers (9:34 )
• Adopt a Social Worker (19:43 )
• Corporal punishment (21:29 )
• Advice for child abuse professionals (30:11 )
• For more information (32:33 )

Links:

Victor Vieth, Chief Program Officer, Education and Research, for Zero Abuse Project and a founder of the National Child Protection Training Center. He is a former prosecutor and has a master’s degree in theology

Child Maltreatment: An Introduction, Cindy Miller-Perrin and Robin Perrin

On This Rock: A Call to Center the Christian Response to Child Abuse on the Life and Words of Jesus, by Victor I. Vieth

HALOS

Care in Action Minnesota

CAST, child advocacy studies minor provides students with real-world experience in a classroom setting

Julie Valentine Center, Greenville, South Carolina

“Religion in child sexual abuse forensic interviews,” Amy C. Tishelman, Lisa A. Fontes, Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 63, 2017, pp. 120-130.

Office for Victims of Crime

No-hit zones

Academy on Violence and Abuse

For more information about National Children’s Alliance and the work of Children’s Advocacy Centers, visit our website at NationalChildrensAlliance.org. Or visit our podcast website at OneInTenPodcast.org. And join us on Facebook at One in Ten podcast.

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