Violence Against Women and Girls is an epidemic. We must act – but how?

It is clear that urgent action is needed to protect women from harm and change this culture of normalised misogyny. And whilst it’s clear that systematic, top down changes are needed, we can’t avoid the fact that each of us has a responsibility to play our part. So what can we do?

Lament

This might not feel like taking action. But as we read of those 2 million women, that’s 1 in 12, that have been sexually harassed in the last year, or the 1.3 million who have experienced domestic abuse, and as we acknowledge that this is only the tip of the iceberg, aren’t we moved to grieve?

Take a moment today to cry out to God on behalf of these women and girls. We all in some way might need to repent of our own complicity; for our actions or inaction, or that of the Church as a whole. If, like many of us, today’s news makes you angry, turn this to God too – the Bible is full of passages that give us permission to come to Him with our honest emotions. Habakkuk’s complaint is helpful here, if you’re not sure of the words to say:

Sit with this grief for a while. Ask that God would make true his promises to bring justice, comfort and freedom for the oppressed.

Move to action

Lament is important, as is prayer. But we can’t stop there – we must move to action.

1. Speak up

It’s vital that we speak up about the reality of this epidemic to those around us: friends, family, church leaders, our local MPs. Don’t let this national emergency fall off the agenda. In this age of social media, which the NPCC describe as ‘radicalising’ young men into misogyny, we can help to turn the tide by sharing truth about what things are like for women and girls. You can use your platform – however big or small – to amplify the voices of victims and survivors, and to challenge misogyny. Sharing blogs like this one, or other resources from charities like Women’s Aid or the End Violence Against Women Coalition, is a good place to start.

2. Be a safe person, and an active bystander

What survivors so often need is someone they can trust, who will believe them and walk with them in recovery. Today’s report points out that crimes like sexual assault and domestic abuse are widely unreported, in part because many victims and survivors are afraid of not being believed. You can demonstrate that you are someone who will believe women in the way that you speak about women and gender-based violence. Take small steps so that you know what to do if a friend does come to you for help: find out the number of your local domestic abuse service (Women’s Aid have a great directory), get a copy of our Survivors’ Handbook ready to give away, or even come along to our domestic abuse awareness training.

Being an ‘active bystander’ means challenging unacceptable behaviour when we see it. If you hear a friend making misogynistic comments, or see someone behaving threateningly towards a woman, call it out if it’s safe to do so, and make sure that the victim is okay. This webpage has some really great advice for how to do this safely and effectively, and our friends Press Red have put together a brilliant Active Bystander course.

3. Move your church to action

The Church can and should be a powerful actor when it comes to shaping our culture for the better. Sadly, when it comes to violence against women and girls, we haven’t played our part as we should. It’s not too late to change that. Through our youth groups, preaching, small groups and more, we must be intentional in talking about gender inequality and violence against women and girls. We need to challenge misogynistic attitudes head on, acknowledging that Christian men can just as easily perpetrate abuse and violence as those outside of the Church. It’s our responsibility to teach a better way – particularly in our youth groups, as today’s report shows that perpetrators of VAWG are getting younger.

We must also work hard to be places of welcome and safety for survivors. We know that, amongst those 2 million women, are members of our own church communities. They sit next to us on Sundays, they are members of our small groups, they serve on our rotas. Many of them are dealing with deep trauma, isolation and shame as a result of their experiences. There’s no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to supporting survivors, but the basic principles of compassion, belief and a willingness to listen will make a huge difference. We shouldn’t overstep our expertise – signposting to expert agencies is always the right thing to do – but we can walk alongside women as they access support and provide practical help where needed.

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We’re here to equip you and your Church to stand against domestic abuse and support survivors.

*Habakkuk 1:2-4