Where Are Women & Children the Most At Risk?
Hint: It Isn't at a Drag Show or a Transgender Friendly Bathroom
Here is a multiple-choice question for you…
“In which of the following situations would your wife, daughter, or granddaughter be the most at risk of sexual assault?”
A. A drag show
B. A transgender-friendly public bathroom
C. An evangelical youth group or church
Yep, if you chose “C” you are correct. I’ll show you why this is true in this column today.
With all the finger-pointing and hyper accusations against transgender people and the huffing and puffing about drag shows as predatory and a danger to women and children, your local church is a much riskier place.
Because I have a wife, a daughter, and a granddaughter, I decided to research this question. This is personal for me, and I wanted to know the answer. The accusations and stories about “predatory sexual deviants” are enough to scare anyone to take action…if they are true.
It didn’t take long to find out that none of it is true. What I did discover is that there is a mountain of evidence sexual predators to be found in religious institutions than in any of the other suspected venues.
In Iowa, transgender people have been maligned and slandered and called a “threat to women and children.” This is a lie. A reactionary, religious group of Christian Nationalist lawmakers has stripped the civil rights of transgender people based on that lie.
The same religious reactionaries are also trying to make taking a child to a drag show a felony. (Just this week, the bill was changed to make it a misdemeanor.) They accused parents who allow children to go to drag story reading time at the local library as “groomers” and “pedophiles.” None of this is true either.
Perhaps these right-wing religious nationalists are deliberately trying to divert attention away from where the real abuse takes place…right in their churches. And of course, churches are expert at covering it up, concealing their sins, and exonerating the guilty.
Let me share with you the results of my research…granted, it isn’t comprehensive, and it isn’t scientific although some studies are cited. But as you will see, I can, and will, cite case after case after case of women and children being molested or sexually abused at a local church, and none at a drag show or transgender-friendly bathroom.
No Evidence of Transgender Bathroom Assault
Let me start with transgender-friendly bathrooms. The bottom line is there is no evidence available that shows that women or girls are at risk of being in a transgender-friendly public bathroom…none, and I really looked for a study, an anecdote, or something, anything, that would support restricting bathrooms.
It doesn’t exist. However, do you know what studies do exist? Multiple studies show that transgender and non-binary youth who are restricted from using a bathroom of their choice are much more likely to be assaulted. The truth is the opposite of the lies and slander. It is the transgender and non-gender binary youth who are most at risk.
In a twelve-month study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health in 2019, the occurrence of sexual assault due to restrictive bathroom laws was 26.5% higher among transgender boys, 27.0% among nonbinary youth assigned female at birth, 18.5% among transgender girls, and 17.6% among nonbinary youth assigned male at birth. Youth whose restroom and locker room use were restricted were more likely to experience sexual assault compared with those without restrictions. In other words, going to a school that forces transgender students to use facilities of their sex assigned at birth was associated with a 1.3 to 2.5-fold increased risk of sexual assault victimization.
Passing bathroom bills or stripping the civil rights of transgender people does not make women or girls any safer, but it does put transgender and non-binary youth at higher risk of assault. What about the rights and well-being of these vulnerable youth? These folks aren’t just asking to use a bathroom of their choice to be difficult. Their safety is at stake.
In another study that addressed bathroom safety directly, no evidence was found that letting transgender people use public facilities that align with their gender identity increases safety risks. This study was conducted by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. The lead author of this study, Amira Hasenbush, made this observation about their results:
“Opponents of public accommodations laws that include gender identity protections often claim that the laws leave women and children vulnerable to attack in public restrooms, but this study provides evidence that these incidents are rare and unrelated to the laws.”
No Evidence Drag Shows Harm Children
Let’s talk about drag performance. I looked and looked for evidence that would support the claim that taking children to a drag show or storytelling hour at the library is detrimental to their normal sexual development or a threat to their well-being. I found none…it doesn’t exist which is why you never hear expert testimony at the Iowa Statehouse to support such legislation.
The evidence I did find shows the opposite conclusion. A drag show that is age-appropriate for a child, has beneficial results. I’ll bet that isn’t what the religious right-wing fanatics were planning on.
Here are a few of the benefits of allowing children to engage with age appropriate drag performances.
Drag Story Hour, where performers read books to children, can be a positive experience, fostering imagination, creativity, and a love for reading.
Drag can serve as a tool for teaching children about gender diversity and difference, promoting empathy and understanding.
Some argue that drag allows children to explore gender playfully and creatively, in a safe environment, which can be reassuring for those questioning their identity.
Proponents of drag performances argue that they can provide children with positive and unabashedly queer role models.
It's important to note that drag performances can be tailored to different age ranges, with some events specifically designed for children. These performances are not sexual in nature or inappropriate for children.
Research and clinical practice show that exposing children to diverse gender identities and expressions supports their natural development and fosters inclusive communities.
I can think of no place where my female family members would be safer than at a drag show. It certainly is safer than this option: evangelical churches and youth groups.
Mountains of Evidence of Sexual Abuse In Churches
Let’s start with a report released by the Southern Baptist Convention, arguably, the largest network of evangelical churches in the United States. In May 2022, an investigative report was released that was over 200 pages long and documented 700 incidents of pastoral assaults against women or minors from the year 2000 to 2019.
Sadly, leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention stonewalled and berated the survivors of clergy sex abuse over almost two decades while seeking to protect their reputations, according to the investigative report. This abuse is more than egregious…it is evil.
I can’t list all 700 incidents in this article, but here are a few examples that you will find in the report:
In 2002, John Lankston Anderson Jr., former pastor, Carbon Hill First Baptist, Carbon Hill, AL, was charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of juveniles under the age of 12, pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 3 yrs. He was also charged and convicted in Arkansas where he served another 10 years.
In 2006, Andrew Argent, former minister of Praise and Worship, FBC, Cleveland, TX, and Willow Creek Baptist Church, Fort Worth, TX, pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to two 20 yr. sentences for indecency with a child and sexual assault of a child to be served concurrently. The abuse involved 3 boys aged 11-14 yrs. and 1 boy aged 13.
In 2016, Jonathan Bailey, youth minister, at First Baptist Church New Orleans, was convicted of 12 felonies, including molestation of a juvenile, indecent behavior with a juvenile, and obstruction. He is serving a 10-year sentence in Louisiana state prison.
In 2018, Courtney Michelle Bingham, youth leader, at Bethany Baptist Church, Loudon, TN, admitted to and was charged with “aggravated statutory rape and soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor.”
In 2018, Klint Bitter, youth pastor at Christ Community Church in Omaha, Nebraska. He was convicted of attempted sexual assault of a child after he arranged to meet and have sex with an underage girl through an online classified ad. He was sentenced to 10 to 20 years.
Before the Christian Nationalists in the Iowa legisalture start making false accusations against transgender people; perhaps they should investigate the real reports of sexual abuse in Iowa like these:
Terry VanHoutan, leader of the adult ministry at First Baptist Church in Bettendorf, pleaded guilty to two sexual abuse charges in 2010, nine years after pleading guilty to indecent exposure.
Joel Mark Waltz, a youth pastor at Grace Community Church in Boone, pleaded guilty in 2017 to two counts of sexually exploiting a minor.
The Rev. Jerome Coyle victimized approximately 50 youngsters over a 20-year period while serving in several Iowa parishes. The Sioux City Diocese had become aware of the abuse, but never contacted police or informed the public after Coyle’s admission.
These reports go on and on for pages. My wife, daughter, and granddaughter would be much more at risk at a local evangelical or Catholic church than at a drag show.
Then there are the Catholic Church scandals. The scope and size of these scandals are incomprehensible. There are literally, thousands of abuse cases that have been reported in the Catholic Church over the decades. Most of them were ignored or hidden from the public.
In 2019, an investigation by the Associated Press found nearly 1,700 priests and other clergy members that the Roman Catholic Church considered guilty of child sexual abuse are living under the radar with little to no oversight from religious authorities or law enforcement. Dioceses and religious orders so far have shared the names of more than 5,100 clergy members, with more than three-quarters of the names released just in 2018.
Again, there are too many to even mention, here are a few examples:
The case of Roger Sinclair is typical. He was removed by the Diocese of Greensburg in Pennsylvania in 2002 for allegedly abusing a teenage boy decades earlier. He ended up in Oregon where in 2017, he was arrested for repeatedly molesting a young developmentally disabled man and is now imprisoned. There are still hundreds if not thousands of sexual predator priests in parishes throughout the United States.
A young woman reported that in the 1970s and 1980s, she was sexually assaulted by a priest of the Salesian Order. She was under 13 years old when the abuse first started. The priest told the girl’s parents that she needed private counseling. At those counseling sessions, he insisted that she was naked and proceeded to abuse her. The abuse occurred repeatedly over many years and the young girl even attempted suicide (unsuccessfully).
How about the great big, huge mega-churches? It turns out that they have a mega share of scandals as well. Here we go:
Robert Morris, the founder of a Texas megachurch and a faith adviser to the Trump White House, has resigned from his job as its senior pastor, the church said days after, he was accused of sexually abusing a child in the 1980s.
A megachurch located in a Columbus, Ohio suburb is under investigation after a former faith leader was accused of sexual abuse, reports say. Accusations of abuse could go back decades and there are possibly dozens of victims.
In 2019, a woman who said she was sexually abused as a child by a pastor at one of the country’s most prominent evangelical megachurches (the Village Church led by Matt Chandler), sued the church alleging gross negligence and seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Pastors Joshua Harris and C.J. Mahaney have left the Gospel Coalition council after a trial involving child abuse in the church they both oversaw. A criminal trial in 2014 raised questions about the pastors at Covenant Life Church, a megachurch in Gaithersburg, Md., and what they knew about the abuse. Allegations are the abuse was covered up by church leaders. Nathaniel Morales, 56, was convicted of sexually abusing three young boys between 1983 and 1991 when he was a youth leader.
Mike Bickle, the influential founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, a global missionary group, committed sexual abuse or misconduct involving at least 17 survivors, according to an independent report released in 2025. The allegations range from spiritual abuse to rape.
Youth pastor Luke Cunningham charged by U.S. Marshalls and booked into Lubbock County Jail in June 2024. Cunningham was arrested on separate charges of sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Ronald Goines — a pastor at Koinonia Church in Arlington — was arrested July 2024, in connection to an ongoing sexual assault investigation, according to the Arlington Police Department. He was charged with indecent assault and sexual assault.
The list of mega-church abuses goes on and on. This list simply scratches the surface.
A revealing book titled, High On God How Megachurches Won the Heart of America, includes a chapter about megachurch sexual scandals. Here is the extract summary of that chapter by the authors James K. Wellman, Katie E. Corcoran, and Kate J. Stockly:
High On God examines the dark side of megachurches by quantifying and theorizing megachurch scandals. We collected data on megachurch scandals and identified fifty-six such scandals discussed in forty-eight online newspaper articles for the years 2006 to 2017. Most of the scandals that we studied came from the malfeasance of megachurch senior pastors, and the vast majority were sexual in nature. The charismatic bond that megachurch pastors form with their attendees and the power that stems from it can be used for their own personal gain. We theorize a form of soft patriarchalism as a way to name this power differential. We contend that the model of soft patriarchalism gives power to men and creates opportunities for them to manipulate and ruin the lives of women under their care. These scandals often lead to the implosion of megachurches, where the charismatic bond between the pastor and congregation is irrevocably broken.
In other words, charismatic religious clergy “groom” women or sometimes children to victimize them. They are the groomers…not the drag queens and not transgender people.
So, back to my initial multiple-choice question. Think about this information the next time you hear one of the self-righteous, religious nationalists begin to hurl lies, insults, and misinformation against those who are gender non-conforming or like to perform in drag.
For me, I am very certain, confident, and comfortable that my female family members are much safer in those venues than in a church.
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I appreciate your article although I find it puzzling that you focus on the safety/abuse of females when males are at terrible risk, as well. Your premise as a whole, however, is spot on and what the IA state legislators have done to the trans community is absolutely abhorrent. I very much appreciate your writing and your efforts to expose the truth.
A thoughtful, well-researched article that I plan to save as a reference for talking points with Republican legislators.