Resources are sought to help churches
develop ministries to prostitutes, the sexually exploited
Committee needs materials by September 6
by Alexa Smith, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE - 31-July-2001 - A General Assembly committee is searching
for resources local churches can use to develop ministries to
prostitutes and other sexually exploited people.
Katheryne L. Goodman of the Advocacy Committee for
Women's Concerns (ACWC) said the committee wants churches to share
liturgies, worship services, Bible studies, interpretive writings and
bibliographies that other churches may use in developing similar
ministries.
The deadline for submitting the materials is Sept. 6.
A report on the efforts of the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) to address issues of sexual exploitation and prostitution,
ordered by the 1999 General Assembly, is due next June.
"We're looking for current models of ministry,
for proposals of how individual churches can respond faithfully,"
said Goodman, who said her research has found that most women in
prostitution are survivors of incest. Other studies have shown that at
least 80 percent of prostitutes are survivors of sexual abuse, and that
nearly all are clinically diagnosed with post-traumatic stress, an
anxiety disorder common among combat veterans.
"We are changing the terminology," Goodman
said, referring to the committee's preliminary report. "We're using
the term 'prostituted women,' rather than 'prostitute.' These women are
more than a prostitute. They're daughters. They may be mothers. To say a
woman is a prostitute is looking at a single dimension of her. ... (Our
language) reveals her to be a victim, not a victimizer."
Materials can be mailed to Goodman at the following
address: Advocacy Committee for Women's Concerns, Presbyterian Church
(USA), 100 Witherspoon Street, #4609, Louisville, KY 40202-1396.
