Domestic Violence Survivor and Her Experience

The research problem was that it was unknown how pastoral counseling could be improved tomeet better the emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of domestic violence survivors. Using theecological systems theory as the framework, this qualitative autoethnographic research exploredthe role of Christian pastors in domestic violence counseling, emphasizing why pastors might beunprepared to take on that role. An autoethnographic design was chosen because I, as theresearcher, had been a domestic violence survivor who sought support from my Christian pastoras a first response. I was the sole participant and participated in extensive and rigorous reflectivepractice with my experiences as a survivor of domestic abuse in my marriage who soughtpastoral counseling and divorce. Braun and Clarke's six-step thematic analysis was used alongwith NVivo data analysis software to minimize bias, revealing five overarching themes: Pastoralcounselors are unprepared to acknowledge signs of abuse, pastoral counselors may have biasedinterpretation of God's word, pastoral counselors may have biased perceptions toward Christians,one's blind trust as a devout Christian woman, and gaining a better understanding of faith andmoving on. These results indicate that domestic violence victims deserve more support fromtheir community and the church so that more families can be turned into survivors; therefore, thisstudy may have positive societal implications. As long as victims remain silenced, their paincannot be healed by larger social movements that challenge the authority of those who protectabusers. Increasing awareness of the reality of the many types of domestic violence in theChristian community is likely to help de-stigmatize it. Bringing such discussions into the openmay help Christians recognize that some behaviors they live with may qualify as abuse. It ishoped that the findings from one woman's experience may translate into insights that can helpvictims of domestic violence in the future and pastors who may be unequipped to help them.