CW: In this episode we will be discussing intimate partner and gender-based violence.
In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness month, we discuss gender-based violence and what we can do to end it. First, let’s define what gender-based violence (GBV) is:
“Gender-based violence (GBV) is violence that is directed at an individual based on [their] biological sex or gender identity. It includes physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and psychological abuse, [spiritual abuse], threats, coercion, and economic or educational deprivation, whether occurring in public or private life.” Women for Women International
“Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) refers to any act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and is based on gender norms and unequal power relationships.” United Nations
GBV can take many forms, affects marginalized groups at higher rates, and starts when folks are young. We talk about how difficult it can be for survivors to come forward, how the church has failed survivors, and how we can access resources to help us become better advocates for ending GBV in all its forms.
Resources We Recommend
For faith leaders and communities: FaithTrust Institute, started in 1977 by Marie Fortune, offers consulting and training, and they also have a number of webinars that you can watch for free on their website, faithtrustinstitute.org.
For men and male-identified people: Men Can Stop Rape is an organization committed to promoting healthy masculinity as a way of preventing gender-based violence. They host a healthy masculinity summit every year in Washington, D.C.
For survivors of abuse looking for confidential care and help:
- The National Sexual Assault Hotline: Call 800-656-HOPE (4673)
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline: Live Chat on their website, thehotline.org, or call 1-800-799-7233.
- For a full list of free, confidential hotlines, visit victimconnect.org
What We’re Reading and Listening To
Ashley has been soaking up the last season of the Longest Shortest Time podcast, since they’ll be discontinuing it at the end of the year! It offers honest stories about pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, families, adoption, working motherhood. If you haven’t listened to this podcast, a great place to start is the It’s a Real Mother series about being a working parent and the case for parental leave. Other great episodes feature the Accidental Gay Parents, and for a laugh, When Youtube is Your Birth Coach.
Katey has been exploring the world of fiction podcasts. Two she’d like to recommend, both of them thrillers with great twists and turns: Carrier, about a truck driver who doesn’t know what she’s carrying in her trailer which uses really awesome sound effects–so wear headphones. The other is Limetown, which has been out for a few years and has been made into an original series on Facebook Watch that just launched this week. It’s about an investigative journalist who is trying to uncover the secrets behind a town where all 300 residents vanished without a trace.
Kindred of the Moment
Ashley Easter, who was a guest on our show on episode 15, “ Leaving Fundamentalism and Ending Abuse in the Church,” is the founder of the Courage Conference which “exists to be a refuge for survivors, a place to educate and empower advocates, and a catalyst to spark the conditions where this movement for change can become a Justice Generation that resists abuse everywhere. “ Ashley has also been taking on the Southern Baptist Church with a group of advocates at a rally they call “For Such a Time as This” that calls out the ways in which the SBC has been silent and complicit in abuse within its congregations. Ashley is someone who lives into the idea of “turning pain to power.”