Churches Responding to Sexual Assault Opportunities for Faithful Collaboration

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1. Identify a lay person within the congregation to go through the local sexual assault center volunteer training, and be a liaison for the congregation and the sexual assault center.
2. Develop an interfaith task force to work with the sexual assault center and identify needs of the community.
3. Develop a pool of clergy who will be available to address spiritual concerns of survivors.
4. Develop jointly-sponsored community activities (i.e. prevention programs, self-defense seminars, etc.) between congregations and the sexual assault center.
5. Develop a church-wide sexual abuse/harassment protocol. Invite a sexual assault center representative to participate in its development.
6. List the sexual assault center crisis hotline and other referrals in your bulletin or other church publications.
7. Refer survivors to the sexual assault center for support and advocacy.
8. Invite a sexual assault center representative to talk with your youth group or other church groups.
9. Support the sexual assault center with a financial or other type of donation.
10. Encourage a discussion group within your congregation about the issue of sexual assault. Use the stories of sexual violence in the bible as a focus for discussion.
11. Develop ways to let your community know that your congregation is willing to support survivors of sexual assault, and is willing to address the issue in an effort to reduce the rate of sexual violence in the community.

For more information, or to contact the sexual assault center nearest you, please contact GNESA at 678/701-2700, or www.gnesa.org.

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