OWLS
knowledge is power
Advocacy Resources Accountability
“I was able to write a narrative and share my story of spiritual abuse. For me that meant freedom. Freedom because I could finally cut the twin bonds that held me down: silence and the belief that I deserved what happened to me.”
CLIENT QUOTE
WE BELIEVE
that no institution, family, or community is more important than our right to autonomy over our own bodies.
that sexualized violence can happen to people of all genders.
that sexualized violence can be perpetrated by people of all genders.
that homophobia, transphobia, and queerphobia are forms of sexualized violence.
that the struggle against sexualized violence is inseparable from the justice movements against patriarchy, white supremacy, Christian supremacy, economic inequity, and all systems of oppression and exploitation that order our society.
that institutions should prioritize transparency over liability fears.
that confidentiality can be respected without perpetuating a culture of secrecy.
WE BELIEVE
that the past matters.
that better policies are just the beginning.
that institutions must be accountable to the people they have hurt.
that survivors have the right to make their own choices and retain control over all actions taken on their behalf.
that adult survivors deserve to be treated like adults.
that advocates are here to offer support, information, and expectation-free guidance, not to solve survivors’ problems or take over survivors’ lives.
that while religion doesn’t have to fuel sexualized violence, it often does.
that obsession with sexual purity and abstinence perpetuates abuse and rape culture.
WE BELIEVE
that religious communities have a responsibility to cultivate theologies and practices that resist the perpetuation of sexualized violence and respect survivors.
that people who are hurt by religious organizations deserve restitution from those organizations, regardless of whether or not the people who were harmed are still religious.
that spiritual abuse is real.
that all children deserve protection.
that sexualized violence in prison is real sexualized violence.
that movements of resistance to sexualized violence and movements of resistance to mass incarceration must be accountable to one another.
that the criminal justice system is inherently violent, racist, ableist, and heterosexist.
that the criminal justice system is structured in ways that perpetuate sexualized violence and are retraumatizing for survivors.
WE BELIEVE
that, sometimes, because better options have yet to be offered, it is in survivors’ best interests to use the criminal justice system to achieve protection and restitution.
that, other times, it is in survivors’ best interests not to engage the criminal justice system at all.
that justice does not mean the same thing for every survivor, nor does it need to.
that if you need to use the criminal justice system, you should.
that if the justice system gives you no reasons to trust or use it, you should not trust or use it.
that every victim talking to law enforcement deserves an advocate by their side.
that sexual threats to children should be reported to civil authorities.
real accountability is possible.
a world without sexualized violence is possible and worth fighting for.
Our primary commitment is to make ourselves available to survivors who want strategic support as they navigate their options following an experience of sexual violence, whether that experience happened recently or decades past.
Our services for survivors are free of charge.
In all of our work with survivors, we believe that survivors are owed our unending respect. We believe survivors have the right to be in full control of the process. We aim to meet survivors where they are, wherever that is. We are here to offer what support we can, no strings attached. Check out What We Believe to learn more about our analysis of sexual violence, our philosophy of advocacy, and our approach to faith.
Want to create a report?
Survivors and whistleblowers, you can submit a confidential report to an Into Account of harm in Christian settings. You can control who (if anyone) finds out, and what (if anything) happens next.