I was sexually abused by another intern. Leadership either didn’t notice or didn’t intervene. Fellow interns noticed, and my teenage self was confused by the other interns saying it meant he wanted to marry me. After the internship, after no marriage materialized, I gained some clarity and worked up the courage to tell the leaders of his local House of Prayer what had happened. They said they believed me, then they made him their youth pastor. I remember early in the internship IHOPKC leaders gave all the girls a crash course on modesty. A better use of that time would have been to gather everyone together to explain sexual abuse, grooming and the process to report any abuse that happened during our internship. But instead the girls were taught how to bend over in the prayer room while covering the neckline of our sweaters. This refusal to acknowledge sexual abuse has allowed it to flourish.
- Intern2007