Unashamed: Eradicate Violence Against Women - 26 Oct 2016
“The example of Jesus’ life must convict us to challenge violence against women in our own contexts with the same unashamed radicalism”
This month marks the launch of the Unashamed campaign - a partnership between Just Love and Restored to fight against Violence against Women at university.
Miriam Brittenden is part of Just Love, and wrote this challenging post:
One of the most memorable Bible stories I remember from Sunday school is the story of Jesus and the woman about to be stoned for adultery. Of course, it focuses on how the legalistic Pharisees are attempting to entrap Jesus: but Jesus ignores their questions and turns rather, towards the crowd:
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”
- John 8:7
The crowd dissipates rapidly, leaving him alone with the woman to tell her she is free from condemnation. Jesus, in his ever counter-cultural way, steps in calmly but strikingly - pouring out his gospel of love, he affirms the dignity and worth of the woman in a culture in which women as a group would have been considered to possess neither.
And this isn’t the only example of Jesus valuing women: He chose to reveal himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman, shunned by society on account of her chequered sexual past; he is anointed by a prostitute who pours perfume on his feet; he heals a woman deemed unclean because of menstrual problems right in the middle of a crowd.
Throughout the gospels we see the rich history of a man who literally decimated hierarchies, stereotypes and cultural norms, and from their ashes models a tale of redemptive love that cuts across all divides. In Jesus, we see a God who cares deeply and passionately for women.
We can forget that amongst Jesus’ closest friends and followers were women like Susanna and Mary Magdalene. The story of Mary and Martha demonstrates how Jesus draws Martha from her societally-dictated position, the kitchen, to come and listen to his words alongside the men.
In Jesus, we see a God who cares deeply and passionately for women...
Many of us are privileged enough as students today to live in a context where women’s rights are firmly on the agenda. Nonetheless, violence against women remains a global crisis; its impact is felt in every country and every community, pervading even the university campuses within which we would like to think of ourselves as safe.
Surveys estimate that between one in seven to one in three female students are sexually assaulted or physically abused at university.
We can blame society’s casual, pervasive objectification of women, or the commodification of sex, but a real grasp of the example of Jesus’ life must convict us to challenge violence against women in our own contexts with the same unashamed radicalism.
Jesus’ respect and love for women who society called “sinful” shocked the Pharisees and, at times, even his own disciples. As followers of Jesus, our Churches need to be safe places where survivors of violence are loved, respected and supported. We must have the integrity to confront perpetrators and to have a zero-tolerance approach within our own Christian communities.
The Unashamed Campaign is working to raise better awareness about how violence affects women at university and to bust myths about who perpetrates it. It’s a partnership between Just Love and Restored’s First Man Standing initiative. Combined with the amazing work of IC Change, the aim is to see our generation of Christian students moved and equipped to eradicate violence against women.
Jesus calls us to be salt and light. This is not Christian jargon – it has real, practical implications for how we live our lives and interact with our culture. We must be distinctive in our pursuit of justice on this issue. Whether you are a boy or girl, this is your issue to call out, confront and challenge, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Head to our Pick a Fight pages to take action with the Unashamed Campaign.
This blog is an edited version, and was originally posted on unashamedcampaign.co.uk