Saturday Motivation: Harassment! A Menace to Society!

26th September 2020!

Saturday Motivation!

Harassment! A Menace to Society!

Text:
Matthew 9 v 36: But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.

What Is Harassment?
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person both socially and morally.
Harassment can include a range of verbal or physical behavior including;
• Offensive jokes
• Demeaning remarks
• Name-calling
• Offensive pictures or objects, including pornographic images
• Bullying
• Physical assaults
• Threats
• Intimidation
• Spoken or written abuse
• Offensive emails
• Tweets or comments on websites and social media
• Images and graffiti
• Physical gestures
• Facial expressions
• Banter that is offensive to you
• Derogatory jokes,
• Racial slurs
• Personal insults
• Expression of disgust or intolerance towards a particular race

Abuse may range from mocking people’s accent to psychologically intimidating them by making threats or displaying discriminatory symbols.

Anything that is unwelcome to an individual is unwanted and it need not be an act that has been previously objected to.

The unwanted behavior must have the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating a degrading, humiliating, hostile or offensive environment for them.

From a social context, harassment is unwelcome and offensive conduct from a boss, lecturer, coworker, vendor or client. Such offensive conduct may be unlawful depending on the circumstances.

Harassment is offensive, belittling or threatening behavior directed at someone based on;
• Age
• Race
• Color
• Religion
• National origin
• Sex
• Gender
• Pregnancy
• Disability

Harassment can also be interfering with someone’s ability to do their work or to retaliate against them for filing a discrimination charge or participating in an investigation.

Examples of harassment are sexual assault, assault with or without a weapon and rape.

In today’s write-up, our main focus will be on sexual assault and rape.

What Does the Bible say about Harassment?

Harassment has been a problem throughout history. God’s word is against harassment especially sexual harassment or rape. God promises to administer justice to all who have been mistreated or abused (Exodus 22 v 22-24) and ultimately offers them everlasting comfort and complete emotional healing.

God promises a future free from sexual assault, rape and harassment in His Word. He promises a peaceful situation where no one will make His people afraid. (Revelation 21 v 4 and Micah 4 v 4)

From the beginning to the end, the Bible condemns sexual harassment, assault and rape and includes them in a list of works of the flesh. (Galatians 5 v 19-21)

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians proves that sexual harassment, even in the form of lewd or suggestive jokes, have no place in the life of a Christian and are totally prohibited.

The primary law concerning rape is found in Deuteronomy 22 v 25-26; this is a situation where a man found a woman and the man forces and lies with her. The use of the word force conveys a clear meaning of rape.

According to Deuteronomy 22 v 25-26, a man found guilty of rape would be put to death because such a terrible act is equivalent to murder.

According to the above scripture, not only was the man punished, but the woman was proclaimed entirely guiltless because the woman cried out but there was no one there to save her. Her cry simply meant that the act was not consensual and reminded him of the penalty under the law.

The Law of God sides with a woman even when she is the only witness to the crime committed against her. She knew she would be taken seriously and given justice. However in our society today, that is not really the outcome we see.

Throughout the entire Bible, sexual violence including rape, assault and harassment of either women or men is outlawed and condemned.

God does not condone sexual assault. But this does not prevent man from committing these crimes when they are not living their lives in accordance with God’s Laws.

In every situation involving rape or sexual assault in scripture, there are negative ramifications. God does not condone sexual assault. He expressly forbids it. God loves His children and He has compassion on those who have been affected by this crime.
Sexual assault is prevalent in our society and is often committed by people who occupy powerful positions. Sexual assault is not only limited to women, men are also assaulted in our society but the statistic of men that are assaulted is limited compared to women.

One of such cases is the sexual assault of women and underage girls in universities across Africa and other parts of the world.
We also heard stories of the molestation and rape of under aged boys and girls in Catholic churches in some countries around the world.

Another case that is worthy of mention are the numerous allegations against filmmaker Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and R. Kelly. This has empowered women to come forward with their own stories and “The #Me Too Movement has gained steam.” The stories that we hear all around the world are disheartening.

Sexual assault is not a modern issue as we can see in Deuteronomy 22 v 25-26 and the interpretation of this scripture is that;

• Sexual assault is not the woman`s fault. The perpetrator of this crime holds all the guilt.
• The perpetrator is to be put to death, just as a man who rose up against his neighbor and killed him. The punishment for this crime according to scripture is equivalent to that of murder.

Even though these kind of criminal acts are committed by men and sometimes by women as a result of sin, it is against God`s laws.

How to quench the tide of harassment in our society.

It’s a known fact that the statistics of American women that have experienced sexual harassment is 40%. In other parts of the world like Africa, it is even worse at 50%. Most of these women have had to endure horrible experiences in silence. These stories are beyond disgusting and the leadership of these countries needs to put proper measures in place to protect women and men from abusive behavior.

Some of the things that we can do as a society to quench the tide of sexual assault in our society are;

1. We can and should make sure that Laws and policies protect women and men from abusive behavior.
2. We should provide clear avenues for victims to find redress for the abuses committed against them.
3. Women and men should treat one another with respect
4. We need to stand up for one another and report inappropriate behavior rather than condoning it.
5. We should follow the golden rule of relationships and treat others the way we want to be treated
6. We should all affirm that women have worth and are equal to men and give them a chance in society
7. We should make it safe for people that have experienced any form of assault to talk about their experiences.
8. We should never discriminate against victims of abuse but must empathize with them and create means for them to heal.
9. Pray for victims of sexual harassment
10. Investigate every sexual harassment allegation and ensure that the victims are given justice

Let’s look at some examples of Sexual Harassment According to Scriptures

1. The Rape of Dinah and the Violence that ensued after the unfortunate incident in (Genesis 34). Dinah was one of Jacob’s daughters. Dinah was out to meet with the women of the land when Shechem, the son of Hamor saw her. He then assaulted her. After the assault, his heart was drawn to her and he asked his father to negotiate for her to be his bride. Dinah’s brothers Levi and Simeon tricked Shechem , Hamor and the men of the city to become circumcised so that they could intermarry with them. When the men were healing from their circumcisions and in pain, Levi and Simeon put to death all the men of the city to avenge the rape of Dinah.
2. The Story of Tamar and Amnon Children of King David (2 Samuel 13); In this story Amnon burned with desire for his half-sister Tamar. He pretended to be ill and his confidant advised him on how to take advantage of his sister. He succeeded in doing this after he lured her to his bedroom and requested that she feeds him from her hand. She refused him but he forced her. She never consented to the rape. He loathed her afterwards. When Tamar`s brother Absalom heard of this, he plotted to avenge the wrong done to Dinah and succeeded two years later when he killed Amnon at a gathering for the princes of Israel.
   In every situation involving rape or sexual assault in Scripture, there are negative consequences. A point that is worthy of mention is that God does not condone sexual assault. He expressly forbids it.

Let’s look at some Bible Verses on Harassment

1. Deuteronomy 2 v 9: Then the Lord said to me, do not harass Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give any of their land as a possession because I have given Ar to the sons of Lot as a possession.
2. Isaiah 11 v 13: Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off, Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim.
3. Deuteronomy 2v 19: When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not harass them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession.
4. Job 18 v 11: All around terrors frighten him and harass him at every step.
5. Genesis 49 v 23: The archers bitterly attacked him, and shot at him and harassed him.
6. Luke 18v 5: Yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming, she will wear me out.
7. Numbers 25 v 18: For they have harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian their sister who was killed in the day of the plague because of poer.
8. Deuteronomy 30 v 7: Also the Lord Your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, on those who harassed you.
9. Judges 5 v 14: Some came from Ephraim who had been harassed by Amalek, followed by Benjamin with your people. Some commanders came from Machir, along with some from Zebulun who carry a badge of office.
10. Judges 10 v 12: And when the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites harassed you, you cried out to me, and I delivered you from under their domination.
11. 1 Samuel 25 v 15: The men treated us well. When we were in the field, we weren’t harassed and nothing of ours was missing the whole time we were living among them.
12. 2 Kings 2 v 23: From there, Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking up the path, some small boys came out of the city and harassed him, chanting, Go up you baldhead, Go up you baldhead.
13. Psalm 56 v 1: Have mercy on me oh God, because men have harassed me. Those who oppress me have fought against me all day long.
14. Psalm 56 v 2: Those who watch me all day have harassed me, for there are many who fight against me out of conceit.
15. Psalm 109v 16: For he did not extend gracious love, he harassed to death the poor, the needy, and the broken hearted.
16. Zephaniah 2 v 8: I have heard Moab`s taunts and the Ammonites insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah.
17. Zephaniah 2 v 10: This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the Lord who commands armies.
18. Matthew 9 v 36: But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.
19. Matthew 15 v 22: Here a Canaanite woman of the district came out and persistently cried out, Lord, Son of David, pity me; my daughter is cruelly harassed by a demon.
20. Acts 8 v 3: But Saul cruelly harassed the Church. He went into house after house, dragging off both men and women and threw them into prison.
21. Acts 27 v 20: Then, when for several days neither sun nor stars were seen and the terrific gale still harassed us, the last ray of hope was vanishing.