Amish & Mennonite Survivors
The Amish are a historically non-violent and non-confrontational community. With over 250,000 members in the United States and Canada, they exist in tight-knit communities and make most of their living through farming and other pre-industrial methods. They also engage in the non-Amish community as it is often necessary for maintaining their lifestyle. The Amish are forbidden from entering into or engaging in warfare or other fights and are not to join the military or police force. Due to this refusal to engage in the justice or legal system, it is uncommon to see the Amish engage in lawsuits or other legal situations. This includes, but is not limited to things like restraining orders, divorces, and child custody cases.
There is also the fear of being shunned in Amish communities. Shunning is when the entire community actively avoids a person due to an indiscretion, and it can lead to total ex-communication from the community. The Amish believe in forgiveness and concerns regarding whether or not an abuser would be forgiven and allowed to remain in the community should be addressed. If people are told to forgive someone who abused them, they could be in danger of further abuse as could other people in the community. The Amish do not often have education beyond middle or high school so those providing emotional support are usually not trained in mental health services.
Despite being against physical violence, the Amish community does have strict gender roles that can perpetuate the view of women and girls as less than men and boys. Since most decisions related to abuse in Amish communities are made by community elders (often men), women and girls do not have the same access to decision-making. This does not mean that Amish women do not have their rights, but it can be difficult to seek support when you aren’t allowed in certain situations. Of course Amish men can also be abused, but women are abused at higher rates in all communities, including the Amish.
More helpful resources:
Mennonite Abuse Prevention (MAP): https://www.themaplist.org/
This podcast has multiple cases on sexual assault and abuse in Amish/Mennonite community: https://theplainpeoplespodcast.libsyn.com/
We should reach out to this woman someday - Stephanie Krehbiel https://www.bmclgbt.org/center-stephaniek