Josh Duggar is in the news, again, and this time it’s for allegations of child porn. We all remember that Duggar admitted to molesting his sisters and some of their friends as a teen. He is the father of six children with another on the way with his wife Anna Duggar. Anna is facing some heavy criticism in the press and on social media for not leaving her husband years ago when it became public that he was on Ashley Madison looking for extramarital affairs. But whether she leaves or stays, Anna Duggar’s future is very uncertain. Victims of domestic abuse are punished no matter what they do. Compounding Anna’s problem is the fundamentalist church she’s a part of that will cut off support if she divorces Josh. Worse, if Josh is not convicted of the crimes for which he is accused and she files for divorce, there’s a good chance the family court system will give her children unsupervised time with him, if not full custody.
This highly public case sheds light on the sad plight of women stuck with nowhere to turn for help when they find themselves married to an abuser. This week I interviewed Sarah McDugal, domestic and spiritual abuse expert and founder of Wilderness to Wild, an educational outreach organization that helps women recognize and leave abuse. McDugal made a Facebook video addressing Anna Duggar’s critics that I found poignant. Her experience with women in these situations should not be discounted. Tune in to hear what she has to say about this troubling topic before you judge Anna Duggar.