First Woman To Accuse Nassar Says Church Can Be One Of 'Worst Places' To Go For Help
Rachael Denhollander
Rachael Denhollander  was the first woman to publicly accuse former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. As  she  worked to find justice for  herself  and the doctorâs other victims   Denhollander  began to turn a critical eye on a community that  she  depended on dearly for support â  her  church.
It soon became clear to  her  that when it comes to properly caring for survivors of sexual abuse  the church has a long way to go â and experts HuffPost spoke to agree.
 Denhollander  opened up about  her  disappointment with the American evangelical church in an interview Wednesday with Christianity Todayâs Morgan Lee.
 Denhollander  was one of more than 150 survivors who shared statements in court during Nassarâs sentencing hearing. In  her  statement   Denhollander  spoke about how  her  advocacy for sexual assault victims âcost me my church and our closest friends.â
 Brendan McDermid / Reuters Rachael Denhollander (center)  listens as Larry Nassar is sentenced.
 Denhollander  said one of the biggest struggles  she  faced was trying to come to terms with what happened to  her  from a spiritual perspective.  She  told Christianity Today that  she  initially wondered why God didnât prevent the abuse  and if  she  was âstainedâ by it. Over the years   she  came to realize that church teachings sometimes can be used to âmitigate and to minimizeâ victimsâ suffering.
â³[Christians] can tend to gloss over the devastation of any kind of suffering but especially sexual assault  with Christian platitudes like God works all things together for good or God is sovereign â  she  told Christianity Today. âThose are very good and glorious biblical truths  but when they are misapplied in a way to dampen the horror of evil  they ultimately dampen the goodness of God.â
JEFF KOWALSKY via Getty Images Rachael Denhollander first came forward with public accusations against Nassar in 2016.
 Denhollander  first went public with her accusations in The Indianapolis Star in September 2016. At the time  she and her husband were attending a church in Louisville  Kentucky. She claimed the church was âdirectlyâ involved in supporting a local pastor who had been accused of covering up child sex abuse. When  Denhollander  spoke up on behalf of survivors   it  caused a rift between her and the leaders of her church. She said some elders even used her personal story of sexual abuse as a weapon against her  claiming that the assault had clouded her judgment as an advocate.
In the interview with Christianity Today   Denhollander  made it clear that she feels the problem is bigger than one individual congregation. She believes the American evangelical church as a whole has to work much harder to appropriately respond to abuse allegations from survivors.
âThe only reason I am able to have the support of these leaders now is because I am speaking out against an organization not within their community â  Denhollander  said. âHad I been so unfortunate so as to have been victimized by someone in their community ... I would be massively shunned. Thatâs the reality.â
âHaving communicated with hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors over the past decade  and based on my personal experience as well  I can say that  Rachael âs statement is absolutely true in its assessment of how abysmally evangelical leaders would react if  she  had been victimized by someone within their own community â Brown told HuffPost. â Rachael âs statement should serve as a challenge to evangelical faith groups to at least come up to speed with the basic norms of accountability structures.â
[TGT] was the first woman to publicly accuse former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. As   [TGT]   worked to find justice for   [TGT]   and the doctorâs other victims   Denhollander  began to turn a critical eye on a community that   [TGT]   depended on dearly for support â   [TGT]   church.
It soon became clear to   [TGT]   that when it comes to properly caring for survivors of sexual abuse  the church has a long way to go â and experts HuffPost spoke to agree.
  [TGT] opened up about   [TGT]   disappointment with the American evangelical church in an interview Wednesday with Christianity Todayâs Morgan Lee.
  [TGT] was one of more than 150 survivors who shared statements in court during Nassarâs sentencing hearing. In  her  statement    [TGT] spoke about how   [TGT]   advocacy for sexual assault victims âcost me my church and our closest friends.â
 Brendan McDermid / Reuters Rachael Denhollander (center)  listens as Larry Nassar is sentenced.
  [TGT] said one of the biggest struggles   [TGT]   faced was trying to come to terms with what happened to   [TGT]   from a spiritual perspective.   [TGT]   told Christianity Today that   [TGT]   initially wondered why God didnât prevent the abuse  and if   [TGT]   was âstainedâ by it. Over the years    [TGT]   came to realize that church teachings sometimes can be used to âmitigate and to minimizeâ victimsâ suffering.
â³[Christians] can tend to gloss over the devastation of any kind of suffering but especially sexual assault  with Christian platitudes like God works all things together for good or God is sovereign â   [TGT] told Christianity Today. âThose are very good and glorious biblical truths  but when they are misapplied in a way to dampen the horror of evil  they ultimately dampen the goodness of God.â
JEFF KOWALSKY via Getty Images Rachael Denhollander first came forward with public accusations against Nassar in 2016.
 Denhollander  first went public with her accusations in The Indianapolis Star in September 2016. At the time  she and her husband were attending a church in Louisville  Kentucky. She claimed the church was âdirectlyâ involved in supporting a local pastor who had been accused of covering up child sex abuse. When  Denhollander  spoke up on behalf of survivors   it  caused a rift between her and the leaders of her church. She said some elders even used her personal story of sexual abuse as a weapon against her  claiming that the assault had clouded her judgment as an advocate.
In the interview with Christianity Today   Denhollander  made it clear that she feels the problem is bigger than one individual congregation. She believes the American evangelical church as a whole has to work much harder to appropriately respond to abuse allegations from survivors.
âThe only reason I am able to have the support of these leaders now is because I am speaking out against an organization not within their community â  Denhollander  said. âHad I been so unfortunate so as to have been victimized by someone in their community ... I would be massively shunned. Thatâs the reality.â
âHaving communicated with hundreds of clergy sex abuse survivors over the past decade  and based on my personal experience as well  I can say that   [TGT]  âs statement is absolutely true in its assessment of how abysmally evangelical leaders would react if   [TGT]   had been victimized by someone within their own community â Brown told HuffPost.  [TGT]  âs statement should serve as a challenge to evangelical faith groups to at least come up to speed with the basic norms of accountability structures.â