A landmark survey by NCLS Research found that 67 percent of Australian clergy have experience supporting people in domestic and family violence situations (DFV).
The results suggest a particularly profound experience in the Salvation Army, whose leaders are most likely to have helped victims of domestic violence. They were also most likely to have performed a safety risk assessment. As many as 88 percent of local Salvation Army church leaders had experienced DFV situations, compared with 67 percent of leaders in all denominations nationally. In addition, nearly everyone (93 percent) had referred a DFV victim to emergency services.
Study co-author, NLCS Director Ruth Powell, suggested that the high proportion of Salvationists helping victims of DFV could be that local forces and leaders are often strongly connected or embedded in their community service, potentially making them more visible and available.
“The team approach of husbands and wives can help,” she told Eternity.
Our research confirms broader results that violence is a gender issue. If women are more likely to be victims, having a female local church leader can help connect.” Clergy on DFV. The study is the first national, interdenominational analysis of Australian clergy’s responses to domestic violence, based on data from church leaders and churchgoers in the 2016 National Church Life Survey, which provided the first Australia-wide cross-denominational statistics on Christian responses.
The findings also showed that most clergies had responded to victims rather than perpetrators. The most common responses were referring victims to an emergency service (77 percent) and 70 percent providing direct guidance.
“This is Domestic Violence Prevention Month, and it is important to note that approximately six in ten (64 percent) Australian churchgoers feel they can approach their church for help with domestic and family violence,” he said. Powell.
However, she warned that while about three-quarters of leading local church leaders considered themselves familiar with local DFV support services to some degree, only one in six thought themselves very friendly.
“There is room for growth in how local church leaders, such as clergy, are responding to this problem, as most churchgoers are confident to seek help from someone at the church,” Powell said.
“We’ve learned that most churchgoers claim to be confident about seeking help from someone at church. However, it was worrying to see in the results the proportion of clergy who have offered to counsel married couples. Those with experience supporting survivors do not recommend this approach. Instead, it is considered best to contact specialist services.”
