politicnewsbusterinsiderpostreview: They went to Bible college to deepen their faith. Then they were assaulted.

September 30, 2021

Hello! I'm Becca Andrews. I'm a reporter at Mother Jones. For the better part of this year, I've been investigating the inconsistencies in the Title IX processes at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, a school that calls itself "the world's most influential Bible college," or, as one former student described it to me, the "Harvard of Christian schools."

For years, I've been reporting on the complex relationships between evangelicalism, purity culture, higher education, and sexual assault. Through this work, I was alerted by a source to a Google Doc that compiled the accounts of 11 women who were survivors of sexual misconduct during their time as Moody students. As a former evangelical Christian, these stories matter deeply to me; I still respect the faith in which I was raised, but I also believe in the importance of exposing harm done by powerful people and the ways systems can be manipulated to preserve their power.

When you read the investigation, you'll meet the brave women who spent a lot of time and emotional energy walking me through their stories, answering my questions over a series of phone calls, and sending me documentation and witnesses to corroborate their accounts. It is not easy to relive trauma at the request of a stranger and then have to answer questions as that stranger works to verify those recollections. I've found the vulnerability and strength of these women deeply inspiring.

If you're an avid Mother Jones reader, you probably know that the Title IX program is far from perfect at creating a learning environment that protects students from sexual assault and discrimination, and that under the Trump administration, it only got worse. For religious institutions, that goes even further: Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos expanded religious exemptions that allow schools more leeway in interpreting the law, enabling nearly any institution to claim the exemption, even after a complaint was filed.

I hope you'll read this investigation and find a nuanced examination of patriarchy, purity culture, systemic abuse, and, more than anything else, individual strength.

Thanks for reading!

—Becca Andrews