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The
Survivors Network of those Abused
by Priests
Psychological Effects of Abuse
Recent
stories of interest Words of help
and healing for adult female survivors of clergy sexual abuse. Excerpts
from "Sex in the Forbidden Zone" Peter Rutter, MD The
forbidden zone is a condition of relationship in which sexual behavior is prohibited
because a man holds in trust the intimate, wounded, vulnerable, or underdeveloped
parts of a woman. The trust derives from the professional role
of the man as doctor, therapist, lawyer, clergy, teacher or mentor.
This creates an expectation that whatever parts of herself the woman entrusts
to him (her property, body, mind, or spirit) must be used solely to advance her
interests and will not be used to his advantage, sexual or otherwise. My
position is that any sexual behavior by a man in power within what I define as
the forbidden zone is inherently exploitive of a woman's trust. Because
he is the keeper of that trust, it is the man's responsibility, no matter what
the level of provocation or apparent consent by the woman, to assure that sexual
behavior does not take place. Rape is the commission of sexual
intercourse forcibly and without consent. The law has come to recognize that unless
a person is psychologically free to say either yes or no, consent cannot be given,
even if at the time of the sex act the person says yes. A man in
this position of trust and authority becomes unavoidably a parent figure and is
charged with the ethical responsibilities of the parenting role. Violations
of these boundaries are, psychologically speaking, not only rapes but also acts
of incest.
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Survivors Network of those Abused
by Priests www.snapnetwork.org
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