A pastoral response to child sexual abuse in Ghana : an interdisciplinary study informed by a relational view of the Trinity

Abstract

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a sin, and a crime. It has devastating and long-term adverse effects on the child, family, community, and the nation. In Ghana, the Children’s Act of Ghana 1998 (Act 560) defines children as all persons below the age of 18. However, the legal age for consent to sexual activity is 16 years. Child abuse is not uncommon in the Ghanaian society. It is reported that approximately 94% of children in Ghana have experienced some form of abuse, which can be physical, emotional, sexual, or neglect. CSA is in need of theological reflection and pastoral responses, based on a theology of relationship informed by a relational view of the Trinity. The study aims to construct a theological pastoral response to CSA in the context of Ghana through the lens of a relational view of the Trinity. This is an interdisciplinary study, broadly situated in the field of public theology. The study adopts the pastoral circle methodology in order to integrate practical theology with the study of the doctrine of the Trinity, with the focus on transforming ministry praxis and Christian spirituality of faith communities to respond to CSA. The findings reveal that faith communities could hold views of children that can be liberating and consistent with a Christian understanding of human beings when those views are conceptualised from the paradigm of the Trinity. In addition, pastoral care informed by a relational view of the Trinity is consistent with the African concept of uBuntu, as well as the current global understanding of pastoral care as care to the whole community by the whole community. That is, pastoral care as resistance; pastoral care as nurturance; pastoral care as empowerment; and pastoral care as liberation are deeply grounded in a relational view of the Trinity. The study concludes that the relational view of the Trinity provides a thicker foundation, which helps shape both a strong pastoral anthropology of children and a strong understanding of the church that emphasize mutuality, equality, and interconnectedness, aimed at flattening the power gradient, thereby using, and shifting power in life giving ways amongst parties that enjoy equal worth.