Sunday 20 May 2018

Word and World 5 (2018)


‘Violence Against Women in the University’ is the theme of the latest issue of Word and World, published by IFES. The issue contains the below pieces, and is available as a pdf here. Summaries are taken from the editorial by Elisabet le Roux, who also contributes the first article.

Elisabet le Roux
What is Campus Rape Culture?
My piece discusses the phenomenon of campus rape culture within the setting of South African universities. Explaining the background to the controversial term “campus rape culture,” the article explores why sexual violence is so rife on university campuses. The article examines the role that religion plays in its continued perpetration, but also – hopefully – in its eradication.

Deborah Vieira
Girls beyond Ipanema
Deborah Vieira takes us to Brazil to show us how universities ignore the violence being perpetrated against women on campus. She shows Christian complicity in this, identifying various harmful beliefs and attitudes that are justified religiously. Then she turns to the Bible to explain why this should not be the case, and she uses the example of ABUB, the IFES movement in Brazil, to illustrate how Christian students can positively and constructively address the phenomenon.

Kendall Cox
Everybody’s Business
Kendall Cox draws on her experience of studying and now lecturing at the University of Virginia in the United States to explore how rampant sexual violence is on university campuses. Reflecting on bystander interventions, she highlights how many typical Christian responses to the issue actually makes it worse, especially for survivors. She calls on Christians to “mourn with those who mourn” and to be angry about the injustice and violence that women face.

Jamila Koshy
Male Violence against Women on Campus
Jamila Koshy turns to the biblical story of Tamar to guide a discussion of male violence against women on campus. She shows us how this little-read “text of terror” has much to teach us about how badly patriarchal power structures abuse women, and then she proceeds to show how Christians should be responding to such violence and to survivors of such violence.

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