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Jaime Simpson and Jodi Death |Pastor Sexual Exploitation of Adult Congregation Members
While there is no national data available on the
prevalence of adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA)
in Australia, international and historical research
highlight its scope. Early work by Sipe (1994)
characterised the sexual abuse of minors as “the tip
of the iceberg,” estimating that the number of priests
involved in sexual encounters with adult women was
approximately four times greater, and with adult men
twice as great, as those involved with children (p. 134).
A more recent Australian analysis by Clough (2022)
similarly indicates that women may experience clergy-
perpetrated sexual abuse at rates up to four times higher
than children (Tomazin, 2018, as cited in Clough,
2022). Further, Chaves and Garland (2009) found that
around 3% of women who regularly attended a faith
community had faced sexual advances from a religious
leader, a figure now regarded as conservative and likely
to underestimate the true extent of adult victimisation.
Together, these findings demonstrate that adult
survivors represent a significant but under-recognised
population within both research and institutional
responses.
In recent years, media attention on clergy-perpetrated
sexual exploitation of adults has increased, particularly
following the emergence of the #ChurchToo movement,
a branch of the broader #MeToo movement. The
#ChurchToo movement was started by Emily Joy
Allison and Hannah Paasch, two former Evangelical
women who recognised striking similarities between
the abuse narratives emerging from #MeToo and their
own—and those of others—within evangelical church
contexts (Allison, 2021). Their realisation led to a
tweet, “A day of reckoning is coming for the church, as
it is with Washington &Hollywood. Share your story
on #ChurchToo” (Paasch, 2017).
This tweet ignited a global wave of survivor
testimonies, exposing the systemic nature of abuse
in faith communities. The movement revealed how
church structures often protected perpetrators,
shifted blame onto victims, and reinforced purity
culture to shame and silence women’s sexuality. It also
highlighted that sexual abuse within these contexts
was frequently minimised as mere “misconduct” or
“sexual sin” (Allison, 2021). Through online platforms,
survivors of ACSA emerged as powerful voices,
prompting widespread public disclosures against
prominent Evangelical leaders. A recurring theme
in these disclosures is the clear professional power
imbalance between the pastor and the congregant.
This power differential is critical to understanding
why this research categorises pastor sexual misconduct
as sexual exploitation rather than a consensual affair.
Genuine consent is compromised when a congregant
is overwhelmed by a misuse of authority, trust, and
dependence (Queensland Government, 2024).1
Adult Clergy Sexual Grooming
Grooming is a recurring theme in research on ACSA.
In this context, we define adult clergy sexual grooming
as a spiritually deceptive process used by perpetrator
pastors to establish emotional and spiritual bonds with
congregants, facilitating sexual contact. Victim-based
studies indicate that male clergy are the most common
perpetrators, while female congregants are the primary
victims (de Weger, 2016 Flynn, 2003 Kennedy, 2009
Pooler &Barros-Lane, 2022). The abuse takes place in
religious environments that uphold hierarchical gender
structures, masculine ideology, and purity culture,
which places responsibility for men’s sexual desires
on women (Ambrose &Alexander, 2019 Chaves &
Garland, 2009). These intertwined belief systems are
rooted in long-standing patriarchal interpretations of
scripture that position men as spiritual leaders and
women as morally responsible for regulating sexuality.
Emerging in their modern form through Evangelical
and Pentecostal movements of the late-twentieth-
century, which popularised purity ring ceremonies and
taught adolescent girls that their value was diminished,
likened to “trampled flowers” or “chewed gum”, if they
“lost” their sexual purity (Allison, 2021 Hatmaker,
2025), with no distinction made between sexual abuse
and consensual activity. Purity culture idealised female
chastity and submission while equating sexual sin with
female moral failure (Allison, 2021 Gardner, 2021).
Such frameworks continue to shape victim-blaming
narratives within contemporary church communities
and enable environments where gendered power
imbalances can be exploited.
Research consistently shows that clergy use grooming
tactics to erode boundaries, often framing their actions
as pastoral counselling or spiritual guidance (de Weger,
1 Queensland Government, Criminal Law (Coercive Control and
Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld)
(‘Coercive Control Act’).
Jaime Simpson and Jodi Death |Pastor Sexual Exploitation of Adult Congregation Members
While there is no national data available on the
prevalence of adult clergy sexual abuse (ACSA)
in Australia, international and historical research
highlight its scope. Early work by Sipe (1994)
characterised the sexual abuse of minors as “the tip
of the iceberg,” estimating that the number of priests
involved in sexual encounters with adult women was
approximately four times greater, and with adult men
twice as great, as those involved with children (p. 134).
A more recent Australian analysis by Clough (2022)
similarly indicates that women may experience clergy-
perpetrated sexual abuse at rates up to four times higher
than children (Tomazin, 2018, as cited in Clough,
2022). Further, Chaves and Garland (2009) found that
around 3% of women who regularly attended a faith
community had faced sexual advances from a religious
leader, a figure now regarded as conservative and likely
to underestimate the true extent of adult victimisation.
Together, these findings demonstrate that adult
survivors represent a significant but under-recognised
population within both research and institutional
responses.
In recent years, media attention on clergy-perpetrated
sexual exploitation of adults has increased, particularly
following the emergence of the #ChurchToo movement,
a branch of the broader #MeToo movement. The
#ChurchToo movement was started by Emily Joy
Allison and Hannah Paasch, two former Evangelical
women who recognised striking similarities between
the abuse narratives emerging from #MeToo and their
own—and those of others—within evangelical church
contexts (Allison, 2021). Their realisation led to a
tweet, “A day of reckoning is coming for the church, as
it is with Washington &Hollywood. Share your story
on #ChurchToo” (Paasch, 2017).
This tweet ignited a global wave of survivor
testimonies, exposing the systemic nature of abuse
in faith communities. The movement revealed how
church structures often protected perpetrators,
shifted blame onto victims, and reinforced purity
culture to shame and silence women’s sexuality. It also
highlighted that sexual abuse within these contexts
was frequently minimised as mere “misconduct” or
“sexual sin” (Allison, 2021). Through online platforms,
survivors of ACSA emerged as powerful voices,
prompting widespread public disclosures against
prominent Evangelical leaders. A recurring theme
in these disclosures is the clear professional power
imbalance between the pastor and the congregant.
This power differential is critical to understanding
why this research categorises pastor sexual misconduct
as sexual exploitation rather than a consensual affair.
Genuine consent is compromised when a congregant
is overwhelmed by a misuse of authority, trust, and
dependence (Queensland Government, 2024).1
Adult Clergy Sexual Grooming
Grooming is a recurring theme in research on ACSA.
In this context, we define adult clergy sexual grooming
as a spiritually deceptive process used by perpetrator
pastors to establish emotional and spiritual bonds with
congregants, facilitating sexual contact. Victim-based
studies indicate that male clergy are the most common
perpetrators, while female congregants are the primary
victims (de Weger, 2016 Flynn, 2003 Kennedy, 2009
Pooler &Barros-Lane, 2022). The abuse takes place in
religious environments that uphold hierarchical gender
structures, masculine ideology, and purity culture,
which places responsibility for men’s sexual desires
on women (Ambrose &Alexander, 2019 Chaves &
Garland, 2009). These intertwined belief systems are
rooted in long-standing patriarchal interpretations of
scripture that position men as spiritual leaders and
women as morally responsible for regulating sexuality.
Emerging in their modern form through Evangelical
and Pentecostal movements of the late-twentieth-
century, which popularised purity ring ceremonies and
taught adolescent girls that their value was diminished,
likened to “trampled flowers” or “chewed gum”, if they
“lost” their sexual purity (Allison, 2021 Hatmaker,
2025), with no distinction made between sexual abuse
and consensual activity. Purity culture idealised female
chastity and submission while equating sexual sin with
female moral failure (Allison, 2021 Gardner, 2021).
Such frameworks continue to shape victim-blaming
narratives within contemporary church communities
and enable environments where gendered power
imbalances can be exploited.
Research consistently shows that clergy use grooming
tactics to erode boundaries, often framing their actions
as pastoral counselling or spiritual guidance (de Weger,
1 Queensland Government, Criminal Law (Coercive Control and
Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Qld)
(‘Coercive Control Act’).
