Everyday Spiritual Abuse: Investigating the mechanisms of misogyny and breadcrumbing in Catholic settings

Recent research into the faith practices and religiosity of Catholic women has shown that gender-based violence (GBV) is a pervasive part of women’s everyday experiences in Catholic parishes and organisations. This paper will use the narratives of women collected during interviews conducted with Catholic women in Australia to argue that experiences of GBV have been normalized as an ordinary and quotidian part of Catholic women’s lives. It will explore how instances of harm and suffering happen via a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling action defined as “everyday spiritual abuse.” Moreover, it will show how the various technologies of harm associated with everyday spiritual abuse, including misogyny and breadcrumbing, have far-reaching consequences and are often entwined with grooming and sexual violence in Catholic settings.