When Violence Is No Stranger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape

It is not my enemies who taunt meI could bear that….

It is you, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend….

Ps. 55:12-13The paucity of resources for pastoral care of acquaintance-rapesurvivors highlights the invisibility of this growing crime and its largely uncharted pastoral challenges. In fact, most rape is by an acquaintance. Only 16 percent of such cases are reported; and, because they are difficult to prosecute, only 5 percent of those reported result in guilty verdicts.

Focusing on the psychospiritual effects of this sexualized violence, Kristen Leslie offers the psychological and theological tools to religious professionals for understanding the deep spiritual trauma of the survivor and how best to work with her to reconstruct a personal world of meaning, trust, and faith. Based on extensive interviews with survivors, Leslie explains the personal and theological issues they raise, what they found helpful from religious professionals, the images and metaphors most germane to their trauma and recovery, and how they coped with or healed from the experience of rape.

An exemplary and important study in practical theology, Leslie's volume will not only equip pastoral caregivers and counselors with specific guidelines. It will also enlighten them on the crucial role that theology can play in the re-construction of shattered lives.