How many women do you know that have been beaten up by Christian ministers?

Offhand, I can think of seven women (and one man, too) I know who have experienced both physical and sexual violence at the hands of ordained and respected ministers of Christ. And given that one in four women* will at some point suffer some form of domestic abuse and given that research demonstrates that religious affiliation or stature does nothing to mitigate against the chances of a man becoming an abuser**, and given that the social pressure not to disclose abuse within churches is far greater than the taboo against speaking about domestic violence in general society, I probably know very many more than seven. I have to assume, too, that there will be many women (and some men) reading this, too, with their own personal stories to tell...

And yet, Bishop Catherine Roskam has caused outrage and offence by her assertion that some of the bishops at the Lambeth conference beat their wives. Three most ostrich-like quotes from bishops interviewed appeared in The Times yesterday

The Archbishop of York [John Sentanu] said: "I have never beaten my wife ... I hope Bishop Catherine has got statistics and figures, because if not she is in danger of causing an unnecessary rumpus."

Bishop Nathaniel Nakwatumbah of Namibia said: "I do not beat my wife. That is ridiculous. There are such great people gathering here in ecclesial spirit. It is inconceivable that a bishop would beat his wife."

Bishop David James, of Bradford, said: "I do not beat my wife who I love very much and who is a tremendous support to me. Of the bishops I have met from around the world, which is quite a number, I have no reason to suspect that any of them do.

However, there was one less definite comment

Bishop Zache Duracin of Haiti said: "I do not know any bishops who beat their wives. But she may be aware of some."

So could one of the journalists covering Lambeth please, please track down and ask Mme Duracin how much she knows?

And so if /when anyone does ask Mme Duracin, or any other of the 600+ wives at Lambeth, if they themselves or anyone else they knew there was being beaten, what would happen?


*according to Womens Aid
** This statement appeared in a manual on domestic violence that I was asked to read in a job I had several years ago. I can't find a source for this - can anyone else?