Anymore, it seems like not a day passes when I don't read about a young woman who was sexually assaulted or raped on (or near) campus, and every day, this news becomes ever more disturbing. The latest such report comes via Al Jazeera, who investigated students that had been assaulted or raped at the ultra-conservative Christian school Bob Jones University.
During the summer before she started attending classes at Bob Jones, Katie Landry was raped by a coworker on multiple occasions. As is commonplace among rape victims, Landry felt shameful, and due to this, neglected to report the crime(s) for several years. Her grades suffered as a direct result of this. After she finally admitted the events to both herself and others, she sought counseling, only to be told by the dean of students that, "We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape."
No, that wasn't a typo. When speaking to Al Jazeera about the matter, Landry said the following:
"He confirmed my worst nightmare - it was something I had done, it was something about me, it was my fault. ... I think they should have not heaped more shame on me. Because I was already filled to the brim with shame. I didn't need any more."
Katie Landry's story wasn't an isolated incident at the university. One student, who asked to be anonymous, told Al Jazeera that the school counselor told her to "ask the rapist for forgiveness." No, once again, that's sadly not a typo.
She also added, "I would say that the impact of the two years of counseling I had with her is that I felt like I had been raped all over again."
Several other students, whom asked to remain anonymous, also recounted similar stories.
This story sickens me to the high heavens. Such repulsive comments would disgust me regardless of the source. However, the stench is even greater since it comes from people whom claim to be die-hard "Christians."
What kind of a person, let alone a "Christian," could say, "We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape," to a rape victim? If we want to talk about "sin," rape is the sin in this scenario. A man repeatedly forced himself on Ms. Katie Landry, and without her consent, engaged in intercourse with her - leaving her feeling violated, ashamed, and permanently scarred in the process. While everyone has "sinned," the only sinner in this situation was the rapist, not the victim. I'd think, if this dean of students was an Old Testament thinker and believed in the notion of an eye for an eye, he would have felt that the rapist deserved to be raped himself, as opposed to asking the rape victim, "So, tell me, what mistake in your life did you make to cause this to happen?" I also wonder what his reaction would be if his very own daughter came forth to him with such news. Would he actually show an ounce of sympathy for her, or after hugging her, would he stand back and say, "Now, sweetie, you know how God thinks and works. What did you do to cause this? What sin did you commit to make this happen?"
In the other story, once again, what kind of a person, let alone a "Christian" school counselor, could say, "You should ask the rapist for forgiveness," to a rape victim? Forgiveness for what? For being a woman? For being physically appealing? For wearing a cute outfit? How does this sad excuse for a counselor think the conversation should have gone?
Rapist: "What the hell do you want? I told you there'd be hell to pay if you told anyone about what happened or came to see me again. You remember that, right?"
Victim: "Yes, I know. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did."
Rapist: "You... Wait - what?"
Victim: "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I was looking pretty good that day, had used the lord's name in vain that morning, so I was only asking to be raped when I walked out of the dorm. Through the power of God and your penis, it was destined to happen. I've learned my lesson now, though, and think I'll be a better person because of it."
Rapist: "I don't know. I don't know if I buy that apology as sincere. I really need to believe that you mean it."
Victim: "I'm so sorry that I'm a beautiful woman, that I tried resisting you, calling for help, and didn't enjoy the experience more. I'm sorry I got in your way and your penis magically went inside of me without me wanting it to do so. I'm sorry for making you feel ashamed for what happened. I'm sorry for everything. Please forgive me."
Rapist: "Alright... Just don't let it happen again!"
Is that what the counselor was expecting? Where did she earn her degree at again? TASTMU, or Toilets Are Smarter Than Me University?
It's very sad how guilty many people in this society make women feel for being victims of sexual crimes. It doesn't matter what a woman looks like. It doesn't matter what she wears. It doesn't matter how many times she's "sinned." It doesn't matter if she's high or intoxicated. No woman asks for it. No woman secretly wants it. No woman deserves to be raped. No woman deserves to be sexually assaulted. No woman deserves to feel guilty for being a victim. Period.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/06/19/3450750/rape-victims-bob-jones/
During the summer before she started attending classes at Bob Jones, Katie Landry was raped by a coworker on multiple occasions. As is commonplace among rape victims, Landry felt shameful, and due to this, neglected to report the crime(s) for several years. Her grades suffered as a direct result of this. After she finally admitted the events to both herself and others, she sought counseling, only to be told by the dean of students that, "We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape."
No, that wasn't a typo. When speaking to Al Jazeera about the matter, Landry said the following:
"He confirmed my worst nightmare - it was something I had done, it was something about me, it was my fault. ... I think they should have not heaped more shame on me. Because I was already filled to the brim with shame. I didn't need any more."
Katie Landry's story wasn't an isolated incident at the university. One student, who asked to be anonymous, told Al Jazeera that the school counselor told her to "ask the rapist for forgiveness." No, once again, that's sadly not a typo.
She also added, "I would say that the impact of the two years of counseling I had with her is that I felt like I had been raped all over again."
Several other students, whom asked to remain anonymous, also recounted similar stories.
This story sickens me to the high heavens. Such repulsive comments would disgust me regardless of the source. However, the stench is even greater since it comes from people whom claim to be die-hard "Christians."
What kind of a person, let alone a "Christian," could say, "We have to find the sin in your life that caused your rape," to a rape victim? If we want to talk about "sin," rape is the sin in this scenario. A man repeatedly forced himself on Ms. Katie Landry, and without her consent, engaged in intercourse with her - leaving her feeling violated, ashamed, and permanently scarred in the process. While everyone has "sinned," the only sinner in this situation was the rapist, not the victim. I'd think, if this dean of students was an Old Testament thinker and believed in the notion of an eye for an eye, he would have felt that the rapist deserved to be raped himself, as opposed to asking the rape victim, "So, tell me, what mistake in your life did you make to cause this to happen?" I also wonder what his reaction would be if his very own daughter came forth to him with such news. Would he actually show an ounce of sympathy for her, or after hugging her, would he stand back and say, "Now, sweetie, you know how God thinks and works. What did you do to cause this? What sin did you commit to make this happen?"
In the other story, once again, what kind of a person, let alone a "Christian" school counselor, could say, "You should ask the rapist for forgiveness," to a rape victim? Forgiveness for what? For being a woman? For being physically appealing? For wearing a cute outfit? How does this sad excuse for a counselor think the conversation should have gone?
Rapist: "What the hell do you want? I told you there'd be hell to pay if you told anyone about what happened or came to see me again. You remember that, right?"
Victim: "Yes, I know. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did."
Rapist: "You... Wait - what?"
Victim: "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I was looking pretty good that day, had used the lord's name in vain that morning, so I was only asking to be raped when I walked out of the dorm. Through the power of God and your penis, it was destined to happen. I've learned my lesson now, though, and think I'll be a better person because of it."
Rapist: "I don't know. I don't know if I buy that apology as sincere. I really need to believe that you mean it."
Victim: "I'm so sorry that I'm a beautiful woman, that I tried resisting you, calling for help, and didn't enjoy the experience more. I'm sorry I got in your way and your penis magically went inside of me without me wanting it to do so. I'm sorry for making you feel ashamed for what happened. I'm sorry for everything. Please forgive me."
Rapist: "Alright... Just don't let it happen again!"
Is that what the counselor was expecting? Where did she earn her degree at again? TASTMU, or Toilets Are Smarter Than Me University?
It's very sad how guilty many people in this society make women feel for being victims of sexual crimes. It doesn't matter what a woman looks like. It doesn't matter what she wears. It doesn't matter how many times she's "sinned." It doesn't matter if she's high or intoxicated. No woman asks for it. No woman secretly wants it. No woman deserves to be raped. No woman deserves to be sexually assaulted. No woman deserves to feel guilty for being a victim. Period.
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/06/19/3450750/rape-victims-bob-jones/
Comments
Post a Comment