Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women PDF
Preview Scars Across Humanity: Understanding and Overcoming Violence Against Women
U NDERSTANDING AND OVERCOMING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN E L A I N E S T O R K E Y InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 ivpress.com [email protected] US Edition ©2018 by Elaine Storkey UK Edition © 2015 by Elaine Storkey Published in the United States of America by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois. Originally published by Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press. InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org. Cover design: David Fassett Image: abstract watercolor: © larisa_zorina/iStockphoto gray background: © nicoolay/iStockphoto woman: © Vizerskaya/iStockphoto woman’s silhouette: © Suchota/iStockphoto ISBN 978-0-8308-8745-3(digital) ISBN 978-0-8308-5204-8 (print) In grateful memory of my father, James Thomas Lively Contents • Acknowledgements viii Introduction: naming the problem 1 1 A global pandemic 4 2 Violence begins before birth: selective abortion and infanticide 18 3 Cut for purity: female genital mutilation 30 4 Early and enforced marriage: child abuse by another name 49 5 Whose ‘honour’? Killings and femicide as reprisals for shame 62 6 Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide: violence in the home 78 7 Money, sex and violence: trafficking and prostitution 99 8 Rape 118 9 War and sexual violence 136 10 Why gender-based violence? It’s in our genes: exploring our evolutionary heritage 155 11 Why gender-based violence? Power and patriarchy 173 12 Religion and women 190 13 Christianity and gender: a fuller picture 208 Notes 228 Select bibliography 266 Index 275 Praise for Scars Across Humanity 283 About the Author 286 More Titles from InterVarsity Press 287 IVP Academic Textbook Selector 288 vii Acknowledgements • I am grateful to all those women who have let me into their lives and shared their stories with me. I want to thank Tearfund for planning and arranging my trips during my 17 years as President, and for all those colleagues who travelled with me. My admiration for the international partners and their relentless work for the alleviation of poverty and injustice has never abated. I shall always be in the debt of those who hosted my visits, negotiated with officials, and kept me safe when stopped by armed militia at checkpoints. Thank you to Peter Grant and Mandy Marshall of Restored, who share the deep concerns of this book, and work hard themselves to end violence against women. Natalie Collins of Spark has been a wonderful encour- agement, and her energy spurs me on. Christina Rees, Kate Coleman and Cham Kaur Mann have been supportive of the project from the beginning. I have appreciated Rose Hudson- Wilkin’s involvement and I cannot overestimate the encourage- ment of Carolyn Armitage, who read the uncompleted manuscript and gave invaluable advice. So many people owe a great debt to the late Jill Saward for her compassionate work on behalf of rape victims. I have been glad of her encouragement, and also that of Maggie Ellis and her foundation of the Life Centre. Yvonne O’Neal has been a tireless advocate against trafficking, through the Diocese of New York. Mary Stuart Van Leeuwen and Diane Marshall have been key enablers for many years, and their own academic and counselling work parallels mine in many ways. Melba Maggay in the Philippines is a constant source of inspiration, and I’ve enjoyed the regular companionship of Helen Gardyne from New Zealand on long journeys. I’m grateful that the student group, Just Love, has taken the ideas of this book forward, and confident that they will keep the issues alive until the tipping point is reached. viii Acknowledgements The tireless work of Heal Africa in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), has been an enormous inspiration. The wonder- ful Lyn Lusi, who died far too early, but lives on in the healed lives of others, showed me the level of commitment needed if violence against women is ever going to be eradicated. Catherine Clark Kroeger, my friend and mentor over many years, shared the vision of this project, and would have loved to see its outcome. I am grateful to Mary Evans for her long friendship, and for arranging my lectures in Ethiopia, and to Lauren Bethel and the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution for all they have taught me. The time I have spent with the groups they partner has been moving and enriching. I want to thank the team at SPCK for their enthusiasm for this book, and for all their help. Their scrupulous attention to detail has been gratifying. And, as always, I have relied on the support, commitment, love and insights of Alan, who has urged me on and endured my absences overseas. His partnership in marriage these many years has been total. Finally, thank you to Zadok, Torin, Kieran, Elijah, Iona and Ezekiel for keeping me sane. ix Introduction: naming the problem • There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon On 25 November 1960 in a sugarcane field in the Dominican Republic, three sisters were brutally assassinated. They had been tortured, strangled and clubbed to death. They were three of the four Mirabal sisters who had spent many years highlighting the corruption and injustice of Rafael Trujillo, the infamous Dominican dictator, whose cruel and despotic regime brought death to more than 50,000 of his own people. The women were persistent in their defiance. Their husbands had been incarcerated for political oppos- ition, and they themselves had spent much time in jail. One night, as three of them were driving home from visiting the isolated prison which held their husbands, their jeep was intercepted on a remote mountain road. They were dragged out of the vehicle, taken to a lonely field, and savagely murdered. The jeep they had been travelling in was then thrown over the cliff, with their bodies inside, so that the world would think it an accident. But no one was fooled. There were cries of outrage from the Dominican Catholic Church, already in conflict with Trujillo, and this was followed by international condemnation. The despot’s rule was never to recover. Within a year his regime would be finished, and he himself assassinated. Nearly 40 years later, in 1999, a representative from the Domini- can Republic brought a resolution to the General Assembly of the United Nations that 25 November should be known as the Inter- national Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. This day had long been remembered in Latin America and now it was the United Nations’ turn. The resolution was adopted. Not only would the bravery of the Mirabal sisters never be forgotten, but 1
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