Day 7 of #16days: Victim blaming

In this journey through the bible, next on our list is Dinah in Genesis 34. In preparing for this I started to read some commentaries because I knew that there is not complete agreement among the scholars with some believing it to be more of a love story than rape.

A perspective I hadn't see before though caught my eye and it was so unexpected and shocking that I think it's a good place to focus today. To say it's a reach is an understatement and you can read it here if you like for the long version (its a section of a longer discussion and a suggested interpretation rather than a categoric statement). Essentially however, it takes a similarity in the language used for when Leah (her mother) "went out" to see Jacob to have see with him to conceive Dinahs brother, and compares it to how Dinah "went out" to visit the women of of the land. They suggest that she went with the intention of sexual immorality. They are suggesting "like mother, like daughter" or, in modern terms, "she was asking for it".

There are, for me, issues here, not least because they are suggesting immorality on Leahs part. Jacob was the sinful party in that relationship in his withholding of affection for his first wife. Leah had to demand her rightful place and insist he fulfil his husbandly duties over and over again. This interpretation takes its basis in misogyny, framing the woman as the sinful party, with an assumption of guilt on her part which we see mirrored today in the criminal justice system both in the UK and worldwide.

I suppose it should come as no surprise to see such an exploration of the text. Attempts to frame women as instigators and men as helpless victims to women's wiles is a tale as old as time. From Eve, to Dinah, to the woman Jesus saves from stoning, commentators are quick to blame 'her'.

I would argue that it is this long tradition which has resulted in the current state of affairs we have now. Just today, Gregg Wallace who has been accused by 13 different women of inappropriate behaviour,  has gone online to cast doubt on their stories and even suggests it is a certain 'type' of woman (middle class women 'of a certain age') who are speaking up. It is telling that it was women 'of a certain age' who spoke up because they (we) are the women who no longer feel they have to put up with that sort of sexist rubbish. It's classic DARVO behaviour (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim & Offender).

Regardless of the writers interpretation of the text, Dinah was not "asking for it", nor are any of the women who are raped and sexually assaulted every single day. In London alone, 8,800 rapes were reported in 2023, that's one for every hour of the day. The horrifying reality of course being that this number is a gross under representation of the true incidence of rape and that's before we even mention the fact that only 2.6% of rapes result in a criminal conviction of the rapist. Despite the focus in the activist sphere these past couple of years, this has only risen by 2.1% since thr previous year. 

How a woman dresses, whatever her intention, who she goes out with... none of these mean she is asking for rape.

So, does God care? The bible is really clear about God's feelings about rape. Deuteronony 22, while often confusing in our modern context, is clear that the woman has not sinned, she was violated. Rape is not her fault. Psalm 9:9 tells us that He is a refuge for the oppressed and a stronghold in times of trouble. It's worth reading all of Psalm 9 to see the context of that single verse, it's rousing stuff and gives you a picture of God's feelings on the subject of justice.

I believe that if you are suffering as Dinah and so many others suffer, God wants to comfort you. If you're mad at him, He is big enough to take that and to hear it and I believe He will meet you in your pain because He wants to heal the brokenhearted (Psalm 147:3)

If you haven't yet spoken up about your experience and feel like you might be ready,  there are people and agencies who want to help... They will listen to you and they will believe you.

NHS info



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