October 2023

Dear Friends of Courage,

In the October issue of the Courage Brief, we present two insightful articles exploring the realms of cultural betrayal and the evolving landscape of Institutional Betrayal (IB) and Institutional Courage (IC) research.

The first piece by Dr. Jennifer M. Gómez, Courage Board Member and Chair of the Research Advisors, delves into the intricate dynamics of sexual abuse and cultural betrayal of Black women and girls, offering a Black Feminist approach towards healing and liberation.

In the second article, Aubrie Patterson, Courage Research Associate, unfolds the trends, gaps, and opportunities in IB and IC research as part of two publicly accessible databases she spearheaded, designed to track research on institutional betrayal and institutional courage.

We hope these narratives provoke thought, foster discussions, and encourage a collective stride toward institutional courage.

Jennifer Freyd
Founder and President, Center for Institutional Courage

The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls:

Dreamstorming from Sexual Abuse to Liberation

By Jennifer M. Gómez

Board Member & Chair of the Research Advisors, Center for Institutional Courage
Assistant Professor of School of Social Work, Faculty Affiliate at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, Boston University

 After retiring from my career as a ballet dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, I discovered research in college, including the Center for Institutional Courage Founder, Dr. Freyd’s betrayal trauma theory. In this work, Dr. Freyd identified the harmful betrayal that happens when people close to us, like our parents, abuse us.

So inspired, I began my own theorizing that would become cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) during my graduate education with Dr. Freyd. In CBTT, my Black feminist theorizing was rooted in the reality that some Black males sexually abuse Black women and girls. Worser still, I witnessed how accountability rarely found these perpetrators, while backlash, silencing, and further harassment routinely followed Black women and girls who were known victims.

Sitting in the uncomfortability of acknowledging a painful dialectic of harm—unsafe in racist society, unsafe in sexually abusive corners of the Black community—I searched for answers with CBTT:

Why does sexual abuse in the Black community carry the unique harm of cultural betrayal?

What makes speaking about Black male perpetrated sexual abuse so dangerous? To ourselves? To the Black males who perpetrate? To the many Black males who do not? To the Black community as a whole?

In my book, The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse, I tackle these questions. And so many more.

In my chapter, Institutional Courage To Change The World, I dreamstorm:

If the world were one that were so perfectly peaceful and equitable that no Black woman or girl, cis or trans, was ever sexually abused or discriminated against again….

  1. What would that world be like?

  2. How do we get there?

The genius of the Center for Institutional Courage is that it promotes such change-the-world dreamstorming within the research foundation that will let us know what works to transform organizations and society. In an age of pressing problems amidst the allure of quick fixes, research also shows us what doesn’t work, so we do not waste precious time and resources.

Of course, fundamentally changing the world is neither simple nor easy. But The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls points us to a path of dreamstormed liberation that we can create together.

Join Us and Support Courage

With your help, Courage can conduct groundbreaking scientific research and share what we learn with the world. Together, we can make institutional courage a reality. Courage is a 501(c)(3) exempt organization, and your donation is deductible within the limits set by the IRS.

Institutional Betrayal and Courage: Unearthing Trends, Gaps, and Opportunities in Research

Aubrie Patterson, MS
Doctoral Student, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences,
Northern Arizona University

Published work on institutional betrayal (IB) and increasingly, institutional courage (IC) has been rapidly growing in recent years. Dr. Jennifer Freyd, President of the Center for Institutional Courage, knew that the largest area of IB and IC research has been focused around sexual assault and harassment in higher education settings. Other than that, it was not clear what the gaps and trends were, which was a problem given her overall vision of improving institutional courage across institutions. She wanted to create a dynamic and centralized resource for researchers, clinicians, and policy makers who wanted to quickly assess what work has been done and needs to be done in IB and IC.

I was overjoyed when she invited me to be a part of the project. Over the past 6 months, I have had the privilege of leading the literature review and categorization process towards her vision, which has involved reading close to 200 published works involving IB, IC, and a few dozen on betrayal trauma and DARVO as well.

This project has clarified the state of IB and IC research for us in many ways. Here are a few key insights we’ve gained: 

  • There is a dearth of research about many institutional settings and types of harm. One that stands out to me is legal settings, where there are only 2 published studies. But these settings are likely brimming with IB, with many opportunities to define and improve IC. 

  • Surprisingly, the second largest area of published work is in the healthcare field, mostly related to medical harm towards patients and communities.

  • An encouraging increase is currently happening in IB/IC research related to racial discrimination. We came across 10 published articles that were centered on racism, which is just 5% of published work; but compare this to the fact that 23% of currently funded projects are directly focused on racism.

  • Also exciting is that study designs seem to be getting more complex. Of published research, only 6.6% were mixed-methods projects. Compare this to the currently funded projects, where almost half (48%) are mixed-methods.

The process has also opened up exciting directions for me as an emerging social scientist, given gaps I have noted along the way. For example, I am currently planning a study on IB in the Mormon church, and another on IB in diagnostic settings of people with complex trauma histories, two areas that have not been studied in the context of IB or IC.

Going forward, we plan to continue refining the information we’ve already presented, such as a summary of results for each study; and of course, adding more studies.

Thank you to Drs. Freyd and Alec Smidt for their ongoing direction and support; and thank you all for sharing this vision with us!