The Feminist and the Sex Offender by Judith Levine & Erica R. Meiners

Author:Judith Levine & Erica R. Meiners
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Verso Books

Potential Alliances: Sacred and Secular, Conservative and Progressive

Religion is interpretation. Millions of the faithful interpret the scripture and doctrine of their religions as commanding them to work for social justice. Tikkun olam (Heal the world) is a Jewish dictum. Religious women from Fannie Lou Hamer to Linda Sarsour have figured their faith as central to liberation movements. The African American Orthodox Jew Yavilah McCoy is a trusted leader in forging intersectional partnerships. And one of our most radical comrades, Black and Pink founder Jason Lydon, is a queer Unitarian minister. A lineage of organizers and activists for prison and death penalty abolition, immigrants’ rights, peace, economic and racial justice, and reproductive justice and feminism hear the call to struggle for freedom—leaving no one behind—in the words of liturgy.

For those of us committed to restorative and transformative justice, as for many religious folks, the concepts of accountability and redemption shape our worldview and our daily practice. Through these practices we are creating new secular languages of error and rebirth, new stories in which the redeemer is not a messiah or a saint, but ourselves and our communities. At the same time, in challenging sexual violence and the ideologies that support it, we cannot ignore the principle meaning-maker for millions of people: almost eight in ten Americans say that religion is very or somewhat important in their daily lives.9 In fact, in many communities, religious congregations present a great opportunity for organizing, because that’s where the people are.

But while the devout have long worked in secular movements for social justice, few progressive secular organizations venture into more conservative religious communities—or are trusted by those communities—especially with the mission of addressing sexual violence. The Harlem-based anti-violence organization CONNECT is one of these few. Through its Faith Circle and its work within individual congregations, it partners with both clergy and laity to address and prevent interpersonal violence within and around the church. Along the way, CONNECT provides entryways for parishioners—often women who have experienced or witnessed sexual violence—to look at the patriarchal beliefs that undergird gender violence, including those in their own churches.

“You have to tenderly go in and work on a very consistent basis,” says CONNECT codirector and ordained minister Sally MacNichol. “What were their own experiences? What do they see in the church? What do these scriptures sound like, vis-à-vis someone who is being abused or is abusing?” And, she asks them to consider, is it possible to change their churches, and if so, how? When change is not forthcoming, some parishioners feel compelled to leave the church. But they do not want to leave a faith they love. CONNECT helps them create spaces between: “side ministries” that support victims of interpersonal violence within a context of worship.

“There’s always been a lot of animosity between feminism and faith,” MacNichol says. “The more patriarchal the situation, the more violence there’s going to be.” But over months and years, religious people committed to understanding sex and gender violence “start to see things in a different way.

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