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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
Focus News Some Faith Leaders Victimize Rape Survivors Again By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent THIRD IN A SERIES WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Simone Oliver had always been called, as they say in the religious community. She was active in the Bap- tist church throughout her youth, playing piano for the youth choir and even ghost- writing sermons for several pastors as a teen. She loved scripture, loved preaching, and loved God. For her, church was heaven on earth. But it was also hell. At 15 years old, Oliver’s then-pas- tor called her into his church office, grabbed her, put his tongue in her mouth, and fondled her until she broke away. It was the third time in her life she had been sex- ually assaulted, already a rape survivor at 12 years old at the hands of her sister’s first husband, and again at 13 by a family friend stay- ing in her home. Still, her faith did not waver. In fact, it grew stronger as Oliver transi- tioned from being a public school teacher to a minister. In the mid-2000s, she took on an associate pas- tor’s role at a non-denominational church in New Jersey. The found- ing pastor tried to court her for years until she finally acquiesced and the two And no group leans on the church more than Blacks. “While the U.S. is gener- ally considered a highly religious nation, African- Americans are markedly more religious on a variety of measures than the U.S. population as a whole, including level of affiliation with religion, attendance at religious services, frequen- women. The report found that 84 percent of Black women say religion is very important to them and 59 percent say they attend reli- gious services at least once a week. As committed as she was, Oliver eventually left that church, broke off the affair with the pastor, began dat- ing the man who would ‘He said to me – not of himself – but he said, ‘A man can commit murder, do his time, put on a suit, and still be a man. But when a woman’s reputation is ruined, she is ruined’’ began a secret relationship. However, a year later, he decided to marry someone else. Still, the affair contin- ued. “I couldn’t get out. It was almost like sinking into an abyss,” she remembered. “I had gone to someone in the church to let them know this was going on. And they pretty much turned on me.” cy of prayer and religion’s importance in life,” accord- ing to a report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Pub- lic Life. Black Women are the Most Religious And among the most reli- giously committed, no segment is more committed than African-American become her husband, and was accepted into Princeton Theological Seminary. As her life got better, her for- mer co-pastor’s behavior grew worse. He sent threats to her regularly, and began stalking her and her then- fiancé. She recalled, “He said to me – not of himself – but he said, ‘A man can commit murder, do his time, put on a suit, and still be a man. But when a woman’s repu- tation is ruined, she is ruined.’ Those were his threats to me.” In 2011, five days before her wedding, the pastor’s behavior moved beyond idle threats. “It’s a miracle story I’m here and alive, because this man stabbed me 30 times. I was paralyzed from the waist down,” Oliver recounted. Years later, she still remembers his final threat, prior to the day of the attack: “‘When I’m finished with you, you will not get married, you will not have a ministry, and Princeton will never have you.’ That was the last thing he said to me.” Oliver was stabbed most- ly in her abdomen and back, damaging her spinal cord and liver. Her former co- pastor was arrested walking down the street covered in her blood, still holding his hunting knife. Survivors Need More than Prayer Sharon Ellis Davis, a for- mer criminalist in the Chicago Police Department and retired pastor, knows a bit about crime from more than one perspective. She said, “I was married to a police officer, and there was a domestic abuse issue and sexual abuse. It was dis- missed all the time. It was a matter of, ‘You all stop,’ or ‘Don’t be so bad,’ or ‘It’ll be okay.’ But never ‘I hear you, I understand you, I believe you.’ Even if [the department] knew the abus- er was guilty, there was that code where you don’t rat on other police officers.” So Davis channeled her frustration into something useful. She successfully lobbied for an internal domestic violence advocate, a civilian who would sup- port and speak for domestic violence victims in police officers’ homes and became a full-time police chaplain. But in Davis’ own church experience – first in the Pentecostal church as a child, then in the United Church of Christ as an adult – she saw parallels to the way she was treated by the police department. “The church was nice to me, but they didn’t know what to do with me,” she said. “I need more than prayer, I need more than a hug.” More online at www.theskanner.com We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans. It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that work- ers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work. A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strength- ens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens' needs. Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regard- less of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs. The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representing more than 5.000 construction workers in Oregon State. Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter? Page 8 The Portland and Seattle Skanner February 18, 2015
