Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual abuse. And as an evangelical Christian, Denhollander has also turned a critical eye on how sexual abuse allegations are handled within evangelical church communities. Denhollander opened up about her thoughts on sexual abuse and evangelical churches during a talk at the W83 Ministry Center in New York City on Wednesday. “Unfortunately, faith communities can be breeding grounds for abusers,” she said, in part because of imbalances in authority structures that can exist in these spaces. “Abusers look for communities they can ingratiate themselves into, they look for dynamics to make people emotionally attached to them because that is their greatest safeguard,” Denhollander said.

Source: Huffington Post September 14, 2018 18:11 UTC