This podcast episode is a conversation with Shoshana Williams, a mother who

recently discovered the unthinkable. Her church-going husband had been

raping his own step-daughter from the age of 6 to 13 years old. Traumatized

by what she saw, the mother called her pastor for help. This exemplary

pastor nurtured and guided the young mother in reporting the husband and

ultimately landing him in jail. 

There are many twists and turns in this horrifying story. Importantly, this

story raises many questions about how the church is addressing the issue of

abuse within their own walls and beyond, questions about injustice in the

so-called Justice System as well as questions about racial discrimination. 

Did you realize that millions of American children are playing, studying,

dancing and smiling but living in misery? Making matters worse, their adult

perpetrators are often people they know, family members and yes – many of

them are living in their own homes!

The Child Maltreatment Report from 2015 shows an increase of reported cases

of child abuse from 3.6 million to 4 million cases. The American Society

for the Positive Care for Children report that subsequent findings over the

past few years reveal an increase up to 6.6 million cases with an estimated

8.4% of them being sexual abuse cases. Even so, experts say that child

abuse cases are actually under-reported in America; so the number in the

report does not include an estimate of unreported cases.

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