New York diocese hosts educational webinar on sexual assault, observes UN anti-gender-based violence campaign

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New York’s Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault observed the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” by hosting a virtual conversation addressing issues surrounding rape and sexual violence.

The annual United Nations campaign aimed at the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls began on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and runs through Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. The campaign started in 1991 at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute.

“It’s so important and so pressing that we think about not only how [sexual violence] impacts the life of survivors, but also the wider community, and how we prevent this kind of harm from happening in the first place,” the Rev. Danielle Tumminio Hansen, an Episcopal priest and associate professor of practical theology and spiritual care at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta Georgia, said during a Dec. 5 webinar, titled “Changing the Culture of Rape and Sexual Assault.” It was the third in the Breaking Silence webinar series addressing domestic and sexual violence.

Speakers included Linda Martín Alcoff, professor and co-director of the Mellon Public Humanities and Social Justice Scholars Program at Hunter College in New York City, and Ted Bunch, chief development officer of A Call to Men, a national violence prevention nonprofit that provides training and education for men and boys to promote a healthier definition of manhood and prevent domestic and sexual violence.

More than 370 million girls and women alive today have experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18, according to data compiled this year by the United Nations Children’s Fund. In the United States, someone is assaulted every 68 seconds on average, with most victims under age 30. Women and girls are at greater risk, with one in six having been raped or having experienced attempted rape, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, the largest anti-sexual assault nonprofit in the United States.

Bunch said two major contributors to the high number of sexual assault cases are that many men and boys don’t understand what consent is, and much of society remains misogynistic and homophobic.

“We have to educate our boys differently, and it starts will the men in their lives because they’re getting these messages about women – about manhood – in the manosphere that’s out there,” he said. “Our socialization as men and boys is about the conquest and about seeing women and girls as sexual objects and not valuing them. …[Change] really is about a shift in culture.”

At the same time, Alcoff said societies also need to destigmatize female sexual pleasure and not view sex as strictly a source of pleasure for men. If women understand their sexual preferences, she said, they will have more agency and control over their bodies.

“It still is hard for women to learn about their own bodies and their pleasures, like to say, ‘This is my body, and I’m going to be in charge here and I’m going to take responsibility here.’ … That’s really key for girls growing up,” Alcoff said. “It may seem counterintuitive to talk about sex and sexual pleasure in the context of sexual violence and sexual violation … but I think it actually is what we need as well.”

Ending violence and discrimination against women and girls can be accomplished “through healthy, respectful, loving manhood,” Bunch said. This includes reassuring young boys that it’s OK to express their emotions, even cry. Suppressing emotions, especially negative ones, increases stress and risks of developing mental health problems, substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Over time, that suppression can turn into anger, making people more aggressive and potentially violent.

The speakers also discussed the common occurrence of rape in prisons, which is typically committed to establish dominance and control. Because most prison rape cases are same-sex, data is more limited than outside of prisons; the U.S. Justice Department expanded its definition of rape to include men as victims and any form of nonconsensual penetration in 2012. Inmates who are LGBTQ+, smaller in stature and suffer from mental health issues are at the highest risk of being sexually assaulted while in prison. The trauma formed from being raped in prison follows inmates long after they’re released from prison.

“The rapes in prison have been a subject of jokes, so many comedy sketches of ‘don’t drop the soap,’ and it’s just horrific,” Alcoff said. “Once you think about it and see the numbers … people are suffering from [serving time] inside.”

Alcoff and Tumminio Hansen both said that faith communities must be more proactive in fostering safe, supportive and empowering environments for sexual abuse survivors to heal, and in turning male-centric theologies and harmful systems into ones that seek to prevent rape and sexual abuse. This includes increasing women’s leadership and transparency in faith communities.

“I think the more checks and balances we have in power … it helps with both prevention and accountability,” Tumminio Hansen said.

The Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault’s tool kit offers a variety of liturgical resources that churches can use in Sunday worship. It also includes domestic and sexual violence statistics.

Episcopal Relief & Development also has a “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” faith and community-based tool kit designed to inspire reflection and action. The tool kit includes data on gender-based violence and best practices on how to prevent occurrence and show solidarity for survivors. It’s divided into 16 commitments, for use any time.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.