A Ministry on Healing Wounds of sexual Violence in the Post war Sierra Leon: A Case Study of The United Methodist Church, Moyamba East District

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the role of the United Methodist Church in alleviating sexual violence in its Moyamba East District Conference, in ministering to those experiencing emotional, physical or spiritual difficulties, in order to improve the quality of individuals’ self-esteem. Its purpose is to design Pastoral strategies, aimed at healing wounds of sexual victims in the post war context within the communities of Sierra Leone. It employed both qualitative and quantitative research design techniques to get the data which resulted in the production of a comprehensive report. The researcher used the convenience and purposive sampling and the following circuits were included in the sample: Taiama, Senehun, Gbangbatoke and Mano Circuits, respectively. The main findings of the study then were that in the Moyamba East District of the UMC in post war Sierra Leone, women experienced degrees of physical, psychological and economical violence perpetrated by some men. The Laity respondents of the church confirmed that the clergy were not effective enough in the provision of counseling and the healing of wounds to victims of sexual violence in their various parishes, which was contrary to how the clergy sample evaluated themselves. Government measures too to control sexual violence proved to be ineffective, while traditional and cultural practices by women degraded and humiliated women in the communities. From the findings, the main recommendations included call on the United Methodist Church to respond to issues on sexual violence more effectively through organized and emphasis on counseling, counseling, pastoral care, and educational programmes for the entire church. Also, the government is challenged to strengthen the reassessment of gender policies and strict supervision of personnel involved in law enforcement and judiciary to ensure that justice prevails in the society.