PsychAbuse News
Increasing awareness, one person at a time.

July/August 2006

Greetings!

Thank you for your commitment to help stop
domestic violence. This issue of PsychAbuse News
addresses the rarely discussed and highly personal
issues of religion and abuse.

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in this issue

Religion and Abuse
Resources for Women of Faith
Refuge from Abuse
Victims With a Voice
Help Us Help Others

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Psychological Abuse

Psychological abuse is a huge problem in
America, affecting 1.5 million American women a
year--22% more than physical abuse.

At PsychAbuse.info our mission is to increase
awareness regarding psychological abuse to
help victims, survivors and their family and friends,
and to provide support for them in their efforts to
help others.

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Quick Links...
* Our Website
* National Domestic Violence Hotline
* Frequently Asked Questions
* Back Issues of PsychAbuse News

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Religion and Abuse

Karen* was forced to sit in the front pew to listen to
her husband's sermon with fresh bruises on her
body.

Terry suffered years of both psychological and
physical abuse from her husband, a pastor.

Colleen got an order of protection against her
husband. Then her preacher told her not to come
back to church.

What do these women have in common? All were
betrayed by their religious leader.

Sadly, many religious leaders are ill-equipped to
recognize or deal with domestic violence in a manner
that will keep the victim safe, and the vast majority
of secular domestic violence workers are equally ill-
equipped to address a struggling woman's questions
of faith.

Because women of faith have additional issues to
address, they may find it even more difficult to to
recognize psychological abuse. And once they do,
they often face the difficult choice of listening to
their secular counselor and abandoning their faith or
following the advice of their religious leader and
subjecting themselves to more abuse.

* All names have been changed.

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Resources for Women of Faith

Today there are a number of organizations
attempting to help women of a variety of faiths to
both find safety and keep their faith as they
overcome the devastating effects of domestic
violence.

FaithTrust Institute offers resources to many
communities, including Asian and Pacific Islander,
Buddhist, Jewish, Latino, Muslim, Black, Anglo,
Indigenous, Protestant and Roman Catholic.

For Muslim women, IslamHerald.com contains
quotes and verses from the Holy Quran
condemning domestic violence.

Jewish Women International is a site dedicated
to ensuring that every woman and girl is safe, in her
home and in her relationships. It offers resources,
programs and information from their last
three International Conferences on Domestic Abuse.


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Refuge from Abuse

Although on-line resources are surprisingly lacking,
Refuge from Abuse by Nancy Nason-Clark and
Catherine Clark Kroeger is an excellent print resource
for the abused Christian woman.

This compassionate, easy to read guide addresses
such questions as "How much of my story should I
tell?", "What help can I find in the community?"
and "How do I learn to trust God again?"

While Refuge from Abuse is directed toward women
who are struggling with questions of faith, Nancy
Nason-Clark also authored another, more technical
book that addresses the social problem of domestic
violence, The Battered Wife: How Christians Confront
Family Violence.


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Victims With a Voice

PsychAbuse.info now offers an online community:
Victims With a Voice. Get the latest news, share
your thoughts or read what others have to say about
domestic violence.

(NOTE: Due to increased SPAM, this community is temporarily unavailable.

Please e-mail posts to webmaster@psychabuse.info. Comments will be posted to a new forum page shortly.)

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Help Us Help Others

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The next time you're looking for books on-line, simply
click on the link below or visit our suggested reading
page and click on a book cover. You'll be taken to
Amazon.com, where 5% of any purchase will be
donated to help increase awareness--one person
at a time.

Buy Books at Amazon
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