Is There Peace Within Our Walls? Intimate Partner Violence and White Mainline Protestant Churches in North America

Abstract

As an individual who works with intimate partner violence (IPV) (hereafter referred to as IPV) from many angles, 1 understand the impact that it has on individuals, families, and communities. First, I am a minister who has not only been the preaching minister for a larger church but my wife and I lead a new church plant in downtown Portland as well as mentoring other church plant couples starting new congregations in our area. All of our staff and interns are trained domestic violence advocates from our county and city agencies. As a minister and author of articles and books on theology and IPV, I also teach seminary students, as well as local clergy and community advocates, how to address IPV in their churches and communities from a faith-based perspective. Second, as a leader in the community 1 have been trained as both a victim's advocate and one who works with batterers by our county agencies. I have been active on committees at the local and state government levels which are addressing gendered violence in many communities. My wife leads various victims/survivors groups and has helped many women address the spiritual issues that they face in their healing. Our church has also begun to work with women and young boys trapped within the se.x industi'y as well as the care pi'oviders who serve the victims and provide resources in the community. Our ministers partner with the service providers to teach and offer aid in the community. Most recently our county 'Johns School' (a mandatory training for males convicted of soliciting prostitution) has invited us to help thetn in their training by addressing misogyny and offering resources to the men. their spouses/partners, and their children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)