Does Institutional Response Matter? A Qualitative Study of Child Sexual Abuse Within Southern Baptist Convention-Affiliated Churches

Child sexual abuse (CSA) affects approximately one in four girls and one in 20 boys in the US, with 91% of perpetrators being known to the child (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). This instrumental case study explored how adult female CSA survivors (N=9) perceive their experiences and institutional responses within Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)- affiliated churches. Data collection involved Zoom interviews, journal prompts, and focus groups. Two research questions guided the study: How do adult survivors perceive their experiences of abuse within SBC-affiliated churches? And how do they perceive the church's response following disclosure? Betrayal Trauma Theory (Freyd, 1996) frames this study, explaining how betrayal influences the perception, processing, and memory retention of traumatic events (Sivers et al., 2002). Findings were categorized as either institutional betrayal (Medrano et al., 2011; Smith & Freyd, 2013) or institutional courage (Smidt et al., 2023; Smith & Freyd, 2014). The study also examined survivors' perspectives on risk factors and protective measures for preventing future abuse in SBC-affiliated churches. Using Yin's five-phase analysis (2018), three themes were identified for each research question, aligning with current research while contributing insights about an institution not previously examined in this context.