Do We Need More Research On Sexual Abuse Among Mennonites?

When it comes to the issue of sexual abuse in church families and by church leaders, we tend to be deeply divided. There are the minimizers, who insist that this kind of darkness could almost never be happening with good people like ourselves. On the other side are the maximizers, who insist that incest, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and other forms of sexual misconduct are just as prevalent among Anabaptist and other Christian groups than with the population at large, and likely even more so.

In spite of much agonizing over this issue by Mennonite sociologists, pastors, scholars and laypersons, what I find strikingly lacking is the hard and necessary work of getting us some good hard data, which has us relying on anecdotes and on our individual hunches. We need to first have facts in order to face facts, and should never shrink from the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

And then to do whatever is necessary to address any and all darkness among us. Decisively. Purposefully. Period.

Some will say this can never work, that any such research will be fatally flawed because traumatized individuals won't have the courage to tell their truth, even on an anonymous questionnaire. Maybe, but that can be true of all research.

I want to believe that in light of the breath of fresh air and new light brought about by the MeToo movement and by more and more women coming forward with their abuse stories, participating in a survey could be seen as a welcome opportunity on the part of many to finally having their grievances taken seriously.

One serious attempt at getting at some facts was undertaken several decades ago. In 1993 some EMU faculty members (then EMC) distributed a widely used instrument developed by Dr. Mary Koss of Kent State University to a random sample of 136 male and 131 female first-year students at EMC, Goshen and Hesston Colleges, and with a 90% response rate.

I have in my files only the results of those who self-identified as Mennonites and who reported unwanted sexual experiences prior to age 14. In this study, 25 years ago of course, the results showed far fewer cases of childhood sexual abuse than the researchers expected when compared to national numbers. But at least one concerning result was cases of young teens being molested by older teen friends and acquaintances.

Here are the actual examples from the study who reported being victimized before age 14 by unwanted sexual contacts:

1. Female under 14 felt victimized by being fondled by an older teen step-brother twice over a period of a year.

2. Male, at 7, felt very victimized by attempted intercourse on the part of two different older teens.

3. Female, at 11 or 12, victimized by having an older teen age brother of her friend fondle her.

4. Male, at 13, experienced forced intercourse by a male friend in his thirties who were friends of his parents. This happened five or more times over a period of two weeks, resulting in his feeling traumatized and victimized.

5. Female, at 12, was fondled by a teen-age male friend of the family three times over a period of several months.

One other male reported having a variety of sexual experiences over a year's time with a cousin when both were 12, but did not report feeling victimized. Another male had five or six similar experiences with a male and also a female of the same age (13) over a period of six months to a year, but did not report feeling victimized.

My first response to these findings was one of shock. Knowing actual cases of child sexual abuse in families we have served at the agency where I work, some of whom we have had to personally report to Child Protective Services, I expected a different result.

But my aim is not to critique the people who did the research above, nor to the nationally recognized Koss instrument they were using. My concern is about getting some good research done today that would help bring more light and more clarity to the ongoing problem of sexual abuse among us, involving people of all ages.

That truth will at least be a start toward setting us free.