Creating a Safe Sanctuary: A Guide for Faith Communities

Faith can be a powerful source of hope and healing for survivors of domestic violence. An informed, compassionate, and prepared faith community can offer meaningful spiritual support while helping survivors connect with qualified domestic violence services and community resources. This guide presents foundational principles for creating a safer, more responsive faith community.

1. Create a Foundation of Safety and Belief

Before any healing can begin, a survivor must feel physically and emotionally safe. This is the most critical step.

Believe Survivors: The most important first response is to say, "I believe you," and "This is not your fault." Listen without judgment and prioritize their story and their safety above all else.
Respect Privacy and Explain Its Limits: Treat a survivor’s information with care and do not share it unnecessarily. Faith leaders should also explain any legal, ethical, or organizational limits to confidentiality before sensitive information is disclosed.
Make Help Visible: Display information for Say Your Name, Inc., the National Domestic Violence Hotline, and appropriate local resources in discreet, accessible areas. Visible resources communicate that survivors will be treated with dignity and connected with informed support.

2. Offer Compassionate Spiritual Support

Abuse attacks a person's spirit and can create deep spiritual wounds. Your role is to offer compassionate spiritual care while respecting the survivor’s choices, safety needs, and healing process.

Challenge Misused Scripture: Actively teach that faith does not condone violence or forced submission. A home should be a place of peace, not fear.
Listen to Their Spiritual Pain: A survivor may feel angry with God or question their faith. Create a safe space for them to voice these feelings without being corrected or judged.
Focus on a God of Liberation: Remind them of a loving God who values justice, healing, and the dignity of every person. Help them reconnect with their faith as a source of strength.

3. Provide Practical, Tangible Help

Faith communities can provide meaningful practical support when assistance is survivor-directed, carefully coordinated, and offered without pressure or conditions.

Connect Survivors With Qualified Support: Faith leaders can provide spiritual and community support while connecting survivors with qualified domestic violence advocates, legal resources, emergency services, and other appropriate providers.
Use Community Resources: A church benevolence fund can help with emergency needs like a hotel stay or a deposit on a new apartment.
Coordinate Survivor-Directed Support: With the survivor’s knowledge and permission, trusted members may assist with meals, transportation, childcare, moving, or other practical needs. Protect privacy and avoid sharing details beyond what is necessary.

4. Equip Your Leaders. Protect Your Community

Understanding these principles is an important beginning. Say Your Name, Inc. offers evidence-informed IPV Protocol Training for faith leaders, staff, and community partners who want to strengthen their ability to recognize intimate partner violence, respond compassionately, and connect survivors with appropriate support.

Request Training Information

Say Your Name Inc.

301-751-2748

National Domestic Violence Hotline

Text BEGIN to 88788

National Domestic Violence Hotline

800-799-7233