USC Dornsife College Of Letters Arts and Sciences

University of Southern California

Sexual Abuse, Whiteness and Patriarchy in Buddhist Sanghas

Sexual Abuse, Whiteness and Patriarchy in Buddhist Sanghas

Sexual Abuse, Whiteness and Patriarchy in Buddhist Sanghas

North American Buddhist communities have been and continue to be sites of sexual violations and power abuses. “Sexual Abuse, Whiteness and Patriarchy” is the first in a series of conversations that brings together practitioners and scholars to examine multiple dimensions of abuse in Buddhist contexts and articulate best practices for building safe and inclusive sanghas.

Moderator: Dr. Nalika Gajaweera, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture

Panelists: Lama Rod Owens and Dr. Shante Paradigm Smalls (JoAnna Hardy was scheduled to speak but was unable to attend due to illness).

“Abuse, Sex and the Sangha: A Series of Healing Conversations” is sponsored by the Religion & Sexual Abuse Project, funded in part by The Henry Luce Foundation.

Nalika Gajaweera was a senior research analyst with the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture through 2023.