Institutional betrayal
Institutional betrayal is when an institution causes harm (by action or inaction) to anyone who trusts or depends on them. Red flags include strict membership requirements (the military, elite sports), prestige or power differentials (caregivers v. patients, clergy v. parishioners), and rigid priorities, like extreme efforts to protect the reputation of the organization.
When a corporation, church, government, organization, program, school, or family mandates that it is more important to protect the reputation of that system and those in power than it is to protect the basic human dignity of individuals or communities, you can be sure of these problems:
- Shame is systemic
- Complicity is part of the culture
- Money and power trump ethics
- Accountability is dead
- Control and fear are management tools
- A trail of devastation and pain
Huh. That description fits a lot of religious trauma, eh?
As Brené Brown says (Atlas of the Heart), the only way back from that kind of betrayal is accountability, amends, and action, which have to acknowledge the pain and trauma caused without rationalizing or making excuses.