Bound by Faith, Broken by Power: Unravelling How Intergenerational Trauma and Power Dynamics Sustain Abuse in Faith-Based Communities

Abuse within faith-based care should not be understood as isolated acts of harm and misconduct, but rather as the product of systemic power relations embedded within structures. Institutions designed to protect children and vulnerable individuals have failed, in many cases, with environments intended to safeguard individuals instead becoming sites of further authoritative harm, abuse and neglect. This research offers a two-phase analysis of institutionalised abuse in faith-based care in New Zealand. The first aim is to identify the dominant discourses present in survivors’ narratives from faith-based institutional care. In this phase, 17 survivors' accounts from the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care were analysed using a critical discourse analysis. Three central themes emerged: power as a tool; power as a consequence; and finally, the Intergenerational cycle of abuse and trauma. Survivors' narratives revealed how hierarchical authority structures, persistent violence, surveillance and institutional tolerance enabled abuse while silencing victims. These dynamics contributed to the disempowerment of children, internalised silence, behavioural modification and enduring psychological and social impacts that were transmitted across generations.