By Victor Ochieng
The church is considered by most people as a safe place, the place where we’re likely to have people who selflessly come through for their brothers and sisters. Many people just love going to church to spend time there, simply because it gives them some peace of mind. At the church, we meet people whom we feel genuinely cares for us and sometimes even closer to us than the friends we have in the world.
Unfortunately, there is another face of the church that’s getting more and more people worried. There have been concerns about the church’s inability to deal with issues of child molestation, rape among other similar abuse cases committed by their members. Even of greater concern is how the church deals with the actual abuse victims and survivors.
After the #ChurchToo hashtag gained fame, many people have shared their stories about how one person or the other, who is a church member took advantage of them and molested them, abused them and so on and so forth. In a number of the cases, the survivors share how sadly the church leadership failed to act even after they came forward with their abuse complaints. But the inaction isn’t all; there are even cases where the church leadership actually blamed the victims.
“I was raped when I was 9 by a member of my church. The pastor, and my parents, told me I needed to forgive him, as that is what Jesus would do. They made me hug my rapist and tell him I forgave him,” read a tweet by one of the church rape victims.
“The church sets women up for abuse by teaching that women brought sin into the world and that women should submit to men,” said another by the name Debbie McNulty.
“”At a friend’s youth group, in response to a talk on purity and modesty, I went with tears in my eyes to a female volunteer. I shared that I had been raped and felt shame about not being pure. She responded by asking if I had repented of my role in what happened,” read another.
These are just a few of the cases being raised against the church’s inaction when it comes to dealing with rape and abuse cases. Then there is the case of forgiving and welcoming everyone without caring much about their backgrounds. Some rapists are forgiven and left to interact freely with church members, only to end up attacking others.
The church must stand up and prove that it can indeed live up to its name of a safe sanctuary.
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