Experience survey: Pastor sexual misconduct with adult congregation members in Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith communities in Australia

What is the purpose of this research?

The purpose of this research is to explore pastor sexual misconduct within Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith communities (male or female pastors). The survey will examine the experiences of adult congregation members (18+) or church staff, who have been in an inappropriate relationship with, or the victim/survivors of pastor sexual misconduct within an Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith community.

For research purposes, the term pastor sexual misconduct will be used. However, you may view your experience with the pastor differently and you will be provided an opportunity to describe the language that supports your experience.

• The pastor may have been male or female.
• You may have been told this was adultery, sin or a moral fall.
• You may see it as a consensual relationship.
• Or you may have experienced this as sexual abuse.

Are you looking for people like me?

You are invited to participate in this research project if you:

• either (1) self-identify as having an inappropriate intimate relationship with a pastor or church leader in an Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith community, or (2) self-identify as being sexually harassed, sexually abused, manipulated by, or sexually pursued by a pastor in an Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith Community
• were 18 years or older at the time
• the community where the sexual misconduct occurred was an Australian Evangelical, Pentecostal Christian faith community.

What will you ask me to do?

Participation involves completing an online confidential experience survey.

You will be asked open and closed questions which you can prefer not to answer. We are interested in hearing your experiences of the pastor’s sexual misconduct and how it occurred and the impacts.  View the participant information form on the survey website to see sample questions.

Are there any risks for me in taking part?

There are some risks associated with your participation.

Discomfort and Distress:

There may be some risks that emerge during your participation.  The primary risk in filling in this survey is that you experience discomfort and or distress in reading, answering, and recalling instances of sexual exploitation from the Pastor.  These may include emotional, psychological, and spiritual discomfort.  The questions may be triggering, you may experience memories and or physical sensations and or intrusive thoughts about their experience.  This may provoke feelings of anger, sadness, and grief for instance.  It may also provoke feelings of injustice.

Identification:

You may be concerned that you could be identified in this research. Your confidentiality is of utmost importance in this survey.  Due to the nature of this topic, it is important that you only share the information that you would like to share about your experience. To maintain confidentiality, you are asked not to identify anyone specifically, such as providing the name of the church the misconduct happened in or the pastor you are discussing. Names of faith communities or pastors or identifying material will be removed.

The researcher will not be able to identify how you have come into this survey or if you saw the advert on any social media groups.  We will not be collecting IP addresses or asking you to disclose how you came into the survey.

Are there any benefits for me in taking part?

It is expected that this research project will not benefit you directly. The outcomes of the research, however, may. This includes creating a space for you to share your story.

You can view the participant information sheet for more information.

Will I be compensated for my time?

This research project does not provide compensation.

I am interested - what should I do next?

Visit the survey website to see the participant information sheet, which has more information on the project.

Visit the survey website