College women who are sexual victims fear and distrust not only attackers, but often have trouble trusting anyone after being assaulted. But religion can help with the emotional damage, according to study done by a Baylor University sociologist.
“We hear in the news about all sorts of sexual victimization in campuses across America," said researcher Jeffrey Tamburello. "It’s a huge problem, one that affects people over a long period of time and can result in withdrawing from family and community. It’s important to find ways for victims to come back to as much of a normal life as they can, and it seems that religious participation can help them do that.”
More than 20 percent of college women are estimated to be sexual victims each year. Tamburello, in a study of 1,580 undergraduate women, found that a background of frequent attendance at church services, with a corresponding religious social network, helps mitigate the harmful effects of being victimized.
The study was published in the journal Review of Religious Research.
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