Abuse in the Church
Darby Strickland
On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men. About 2 in 4 women have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. This includes a range of behaviors (e.g. slapping, shoving, pushing) and in some cases might not be considered "domestic violence." These statistics do not include abuse of men. These are just a few of domestic abuse statistics on the National Statistics Domestic Violence website.
Many more people do not report abuse. If these stats are true, it’s likely 1 in 4 women sitting in our church pews have experienced severe physical violence. Sadly, the place where wounded women should feel safest – the church – is the one place they are too ashamed to be transparent. In this informative but at times disturbing interview, Darby Strickland draws from years of not only studying the impact of abuse but her interaction through counseling abused women. Darby is passionate about equipping local churches to be a safe place for the abused. To go deeper, you can order her newest book: Is it Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims
Biography of Darby Strickland
Darby Strickland counsels and teaches at the Christian Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF) in Glenside, Pennsylvania. Her course Counseling Abusive Marriages is offered through CCEF's School of Biblical Counseling. She is a contributor to Becoming a Church That Cares Well for the Abused and author of two booklets Domestic Abuse: Recognize, Respond, and Rescue and Domestic Abuse: Help for the Sufferer. She writes regularly for the Journal of Biblical Counseling. In 1999, she graduated with an MDiv in counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary, where she met her husband, John. Darby has three children and takes delight in homeschooling them. Her writing and speaking focus on training churches to care for those affected by trauma and domestic abuse.
