report<\/a> on BJU\u2019s misconduct is different. Unusually for such a document, it makes a theological case against sexual abuse\u2014but in so doing, it points to the deep roots of rape culture that may not be so easily uprooted.<\/p>\nThe fact pattern is by now familiar\u2014though a little different in the BJU case, which covers counseling for all reported sexual abuse, not just abuse perpetrated by members of the Bob Jones community. Of the 166 respondents to the BJU survey who reported sexual abuse, about half of the abuse took place before they came to the university; this particular report is more about counseling victims than prosecuting perpetrators. This is not another cover-up.<\/p>\n
The university\u2019s responses, though, were depressingly familiar. Only 7.6 percent of victims were encouraged by BJU staff to report their abuse to the police. Forty-seven percent were actively told not to do so and 55 percent said the university\u2019s attitude toward abuse reports was \u201cblaming and disparaging.\u201d Women were invited to confess what they had done to entice the abuser\u2014the wearing of revealing clothing, for example. And if their bodies \u201cresponded favorably,\u201d then they, too, had sinned.<\/p>\n
Indeed, even if their bodies hadn\u2019t \u201cresponded favorably\u201d to being raped or abused, abuse survivors were still regarded as \u201cdamaged goods,\u201d according to the report, because virginity is prized above all, and any illicit sex\u2014consensual or not\u2014is sinful. That may be hard for non-religious people to wrap their heads around, but remember, if sex is bad and virginity is good, that\u2019s true no matter the circumstances, no matter the presence or absence of consent.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the Bob Jones University report is, itself, a kind of religious document. Produced by an organization called GRACE, whose mission is \u201cto empower the Christian community through education and training to recognize and respond to the sin of sexual abuse,\u201d it is full of biblical citations and theological argument. For example, the report argues against victim-blaming by citing Matthew 5:28 (\u201cEveryone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart\u201d) and stating that \u201cIf a dress code encourages men to see women for their bodies\u2014whether they dress modestly or not\u2014then women become objects, and often, mere objects of lust.\u201d<\/p>\n
That is some good theological reasoning, and wouldn\u2019t be out of place in any number of progressive religious contexts. What\u2019s interesting is that Bob Jones University isn\u2019t one of those.<\/p>\n
Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At this point, there are so many sex scandals among conservative religious organizations, we\u2019re no longer surprised by any of them. The latest revelation\u2014that for decades, the evangelical Bob Jones University blamed victims of sexual assault and discouraged the prosecution of predators\u2014should be shocking, but probably isn\u2019t. Yet, the recent report on BJU\u2019s misconduct is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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