Resources
The JSASSN Resources page provides information for survivors and their families. Please feel free to contact JSASSN with recommended resources for the site. (At the moment, Jane would especially appreciate a reference to a Christian testimony by a man who survived childhood sexual abuse or assault.) The JSASSN Resources page will be continuously updated. Please check back for more information!
SUPPORT HOTLINE
Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN)
This organization operates America’s only 24-hour confidential national hotline for survivors of sexual assault.
635-B Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
Washington DC 20003
Phone: 800/656-HOPE
Phone: 656-4673
Fax: 202/544-3556
http://www.rainn.org
BOOKS
*To order any of these books and have them promptly delivered, simply go to Amazon.com. Some books from Christian auathors are available for free or for a minimal donation from Focus on the Family – resources.family.org.
Testimonies by survivors:
Nicole Braddock Bromley, Hush: Moving from Silence to Healing after Childhood Sexual Abuse, Chicago, Moody Press, 2007.
Nicole tells her story of being sexually abused by her step-father, her recovery, and her ministry while helping survivors and those who care about them learn about steps to healing.
Joyce Meyer, Beauty for Ashes: Receiving Emotional Healing, New York, Warner Books, 1999.
Joyce briefly tells her story of being sexually abused by her father for her entire childhood—until she left home at eighteen. She describes the common emotional and spiritual effects of childhood abuse (fear, pain, guilt, shame, self-rejection, self-hatred) and describes a path to healing through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Language: English and available in Spanish.)
Vinka Jackson, Agua Fresca en los Espejos: Abuso sexual infantil y resiliencia, Providencia, Santiago de Chilé, Aguilar, 2007.
Vinka tells her story of childhood abuse and recovery in Chilé. (Language: Spanish)
Mariliana Morales, editor, A Aprendido a vivir bajo el sol
Morales, director of a ministry to former prostitutes, edits the stories of women who have transitioned from prostitution to work with dignity in San José, Costa Rica. (Language: Spanish)
For survivors in recovery:
Dr. Dan B. Allender, The Wounded Heart: Hope for Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Colorado Press, NavPress, 1992.
From a Christian perspective, Allender discusses the dynamics of abuse (such as sin and shame), the damage of abuse (powerlessness, betrayal, ambivalence, secondary symptoms, relating), and prerequisites for growth (honesty, repentance, love). (I do not find this book helpful because of the excessive number of purient examples and the overbearing tone, but others have, so I list it.)
Ellen Bass and Laura Davis, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 3rd ed., HarperPerennial, 1994.
From a secular perspective, Bass and Davis discuss the healing process, changing patterns, advice for supporters of survivors, stories of courageous women, and honoring the truth.
Beverly Engel, MFCT, The Right to Innocence: Healing the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse, Los Angeles, Jeremy Tarcher, 1989.
From a very helpful secular perspective, Engel shares her story and the psychological steps to recovery from childhood sexual abuse and assault: facing the truth, releasing anger, confronting with facts and feelings, resolving your relationships, self-discovery, self-care, forgiving yourself.
Wayne Kritsberg, The Invisible Wound: A New Approach to Healing Childhood Sexual Trauma, New York, Bantam Books, 1993.
From a secular perspective, Kritsberg decribes sexual abuse of various types, the effects of sexual trauma on adults, recovery (discovery, active healing, integration), stages of healing (exposing the wound, re-experiencing the trauma, externalizing pain, healing the wound), taking care of your inner child, healing energy and healing touch and a safe place, and the healing journal.
Diane Mandt Langberg, On the Threshhold of Hope: Opening the Door to Hope and Healing for Survivors of Sexual Abuse
From a Christian perspective, Diane, a Christian counselor, shares steps to recovery from childhood sexual abuse and assault.
Beth Moore, Breaking Free: Making Liberty in Christ Reality in Life, Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2000.
Specific chapters in Moore’s book deal with childhood abuse and recovery. See: Chapter 19 “Hearts Broken in Childhood,” Chapter 20 “Hearts Mended by Truth,” Chapter 21 “Hearts Broken by Betrayal,” Chapter 22 “Hearts Broken by Loss”
For caregivers:
Dr. R. Timothy Kearney, Caring for Sexually Abused Children: A Handbook for Families and Churches, Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
From a Christian perspective, this book focuses on helping children who disclose their sexually abusive experience as children to adults in church. Kearney covers the facts of sexual abuse, the systems involved in reporting (Child Protective Services, the police, social workers), some actions the church can take to support and help victims and perpetrators, the value of therapy, theological questions raised by children and families, healing, effects of sexual abuse in adulthood, and how to become a pro-active church focused on prevention of sexual abuse. Highly recommended for all pastors, youth pastors, and Sunday school directors and teachers.
Prevention and Intervention:
Leigh Baker, Psy.D, Protecting Your Children from Sexual Predators, New York, St. Martin’s Press, 2002.
From a secular perspective, Baker identifies the ten most common characteristics of sexual predators and stages of abuse, describes male and female predators, sexually abuse youth and sibling abuse, and problems “cybersex,” and gives an overview of sex offender registries, possibilities of cures for predators, and tips for prevention at home.
Lisa Graham McMinn, Growing Strong Daughters: Encouraging Girls to Become All They’re Meant to Be, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2000.
Although this book does not deal extensively with sexual abuse, it does give parents important insights and suggestions for raising daughters who will have strength and integrity from a Christian perspective.
Healthy sexuality:
Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus, Intimate Issues: 21 Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex, Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 1999.
Although only Chapter 14 deals with the question, “Is it possible to get beyond the pain of sexual abuse?,” the other chapters address questions Christian women often have about sex. Useful. The tone is optimistic, encouraging, down-to-earth.
Wendy Maltz, The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse, HarperCollins Publishers, 1991.
From a very helpful secular perspective, Maltz (a licensed clinical social worker, licensed marriage and family counselor, and a certified sex therapist) speaks directly to survivors and their partners about sexual difficulties following abuse or assault and provides specific suggestions and exercises for mental, emotional, and physical healing in sexual relationships.
Douglas Rosenau, A Celebration of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God’s Gift of Sexual Intimacy, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1996, 2002.
From a Christian perspective, Rosenau teaches readers about sexual experience throughout the human life cycle, gives an overview of sexual dysfunctions and ways to remedy them, and provides specific information on sex techniques.
