Remember that time Jesus said The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few?
Okay, so that might not be the most appropriate response to the issue but its definitely a revelation that there’s so much to do. And we might not have the most capable hands around.
If you follow conversations on Twitter, then you’ve probably heard about #MeToo, a series of stories from survivors of sexual abuse following the recent sexual abuse accusations against Harvey Weinstein.
#ChurchToo started not too long after the #Metoo and featured an outpouring of stories about sexual assault within Christian communities. Two twitter users; Emily Joy and Hannah Paasch started the trend and it has gradually become a community of hope and strength for people who have suffered heavy blows of sexual assault from our church communities.
The stories on the Church Too trend are more than heartbreaking. They are saddening. A deep revelation of the high level of hypocrisy that exists in the church.
Some of the tweets from the Church Too trend are below:
There’s a hashtag on Twitter right now called #churchtoo where people are sharing their stories of sexual harassment and abuse in religious (primarily Christian) settings.
It’s a sobering, powerful, disturbing read.
Many thanks to the brave people sharing their stories.
— Matt Mikalatos (@mattmikalatos) November 21, 2017
I was raped when I was 9 by a member of my church. The pastor, and my parents, told me I needed to forgive him, as that is what Jesus would do. They made me hug my rapist and tell him I forgave him.#churchtoo
— Darlene what’s with all the pedos and nazis Darrow (@darcorina) November 22, 2017
This one reminds us of the sons of Eli
The son of the pastor ran the youth group, abused pain pills, and tried to pull my shirt back so he could look down it. #ChurchToo
— this is fine (@helenaj0y) November 22, 2017
A then-volunteer tried his hardest to isolate and manipulate me. He told me he would rape me when given the chance. I complained to the church, and he’s now a priest. #churchtoo
— Cydney Proctor (@cydneybproctor) November 22, 2017
The church/purity culture is the reason why I didn’t know a guy at my Christian college had harassed and assaulted me until years after it happened. None of my college friends know because I’m afraid of retaliation and judgement. #churchtoo
— Ms. Charlotte (@charlotteirene8) November 21, 2017
A teenage woman in my church became pregnant and everyone thought the father was her boyfriend. Turns out, it was a deacon who she went to seeking guidance. #churchtoo
— RxFiller (@wbnc) November 22, 2017
Although, Most Africans have not joined the trend yet, we can comfortably assume that the stats here will blow our minds away. Church Too is doing more than just telling the stories. It is revealing what people had thought to be hidden and showing to us how deep sexism, religion and immorality has eaten deep into many of our communities. Unlike what many people think, the trend is not aimed at encouraging people to abandon their faith, but rather exhorting Christians to use #ChurchToo as an opportunity to come forward to correct injustices within their church communities. We need to first, acknowledge that we have a sex problem in our churches and most of our campaigns against it aren’t working. The most important thing for us is to sit up and work actively against this menace.
Can we be honest?
They didn’t ask for this treatment neither did they deserve it. But somehow, our structures have failed them.
We cannot restore the innocence of the survivors of the Church too but, we can do better as a church. Legal action can be taken against perpetrators of this evil act. As a community, we can put more accountability measures in place. We can form a wall of love around the victims by helping them through a rehabilitation process.
We cant be silent about this. There is so much work to be done. Church, arise
Bolu Akindele is a freelance writer and journalist whose work covers religion, human interest stories and development across Nigeria and increasingly, West Africa.
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