Todd Akin, ‘Legitimate Rape,’ and Gospel Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault

This article originally appeared in Christianity Today.

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin and U.S. Senate candidates started a national discussion about sexual assault this week after Akin’s offensive—or, at least, poor—choice of words in an interview Sunday night.

The Missouri Congressman, who attends a PCA church, said to a St. Louis TV anchor that a woman’s body is capable of preventing pregnancy in cases of “legitimate rape.” He claimed a woman’s body can typically fend off pregnancy during a “legitimate rape” as he argued against allowing abortions in cases of rape, claiming such pregnancies are uncommon in the first place.

Rep. Akin’s direct statement is as follows:

It seems to me first of all, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something. You know, I think there should be some punishment but the punishment ought to be on the rapist and not attacking the child.

Akin later apologized, saying he was referring to “forcible rape” and acknowledged that women “do become pregnant” during such instances. But his comments revealed some clear misconceptions about rape and pregnancy that are worth clearing up.

Regardless of what one thinks about Akin’s comment and the ensuing ire from the public, the story provides an opportunity for us as Christians to better understand what rape and sexual assault really are, and to know how to respond with theological wisdom when someone we know becomes a victim.

 

Research

Based on statistics, you likely know a victim of sexual assault: At least one in four women and one in six men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. According to most recent statistics, every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted, and there are nearly 250,000 victims (age 12 or older) of sexual assault every year. Moreover, every year in the U.S., more than 30,000 women become pregnant as a result of rape. Not only can rape result in pregnancy, some studies show that it also may lead to higher rates of pregnancy than consensual sex.

Some research reports that the rate at which women get pregnant after an incident of sexual assault can be more than double that of a single act of consensual sex. In an article in the journal Human Nature, the per-incident rape-pregnancy rate was 6.42 percent, and as high as 7.98 percent with statistical correction. Of women having consensual sex, the per-incident pregnancy rate was 3.1 percent.

Because of this recent controversy, many are discussing sexual assault and the importance of defining it. They implications for this are enormous for victims and those who love and support them as well as for broader politics, policies, and the justice system.

Sexual assault is not just rape by a stranger with a weapon. Approximately 80 percent of victims are assaulted by an acquaintance: a relative, spouse, dating partner, friend, pastor, teacher, boss, coach, therapist, or doctor. And sexual assault is not just rape itself; it is any form of nonconsensual sexual contact.

Many victims experience the effects of sexual assault, but feel isolated or confused because they believe misconceptions of what sexual assault entails. This may result in feelings of self-blame, denial, shame, guilt, anger, distorted self-image, and despair.

I (Justin) have taught courses on sexual violence as well as counseled numerous victims of sexual assault as a pastor. I (Lindsey) have counseled victims of sexual assault while working at a crisis center as well as a domestic violence shelter. My graduate research was on sexual violence and public health responses. Together, we wrote Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault.

Our definition of sexual assault is any type of sexual behavior or contact where consent is not freely given or obtained, and which is accomplished through force, intimidation, violence, coercion, manipulation, threat, deception, or abuse of authority (Rid of My Disgrace, 28). This definition gets beyond our society’s narrow understanding of the issue and expands the spectrum of actions that should rightfully be recognized as sexual assault.

The reasoning behind our comprehensive definition of sexual assault is manifold. First, clarity helps victims know that they are not alone in their experience. Second, victims would be more motivated to report if they knew that what happened to them was a crime. Third, a clear definition would reduce myths and victim-blaming. Fourth, it would also enable more services to be established to help victims of such an extremely violating crime, in addition to educating authorities on how to properly handle such a sensitive topic. Fifth, surveys and studies indicate that most people know almost nothing about the dynamics of sexual violence and have little or no experience in dealing with it.

When defining sexual assault as any sexual act that is nonconsensual—forced against someone’s will—it is important to understand that the “acts” can be physical, verbal, or psychological.

Sexual assault occurs along a continuum of power and control ranging from noncontact sexual assault to forced sexual intercourse. Sexual assault includes acts such as nonconsensual sexual intercourse (rape), nonconsensual sodomy (oral or anal sexual acts), child molestation, incest, fondling, exposure, voyeurism, or attempts to commit these acts. The definition of rape, in contrast, is straightforward in nature. As defined in the American Journal of Psychiatry, rape is “forced sexual intercourse that may be heterosexual or homosexual which involves insertion of an erect penis or an inanimate object into the female vagina or the male anus; in both sexes, rape may also include forced oral or anal penetration.”

Another significant issue is consent. Consent is when an individual is freely able to make a choice based upon respect and equal power, and with the understanding that there is the freedom to change her or his mind at any point. There are three main considerations in judging whether a sexual act is consensual or an assault. First, are both people old enough to consent? Second, do both people have the capacity to consent? Third, did both agree to the sexual contact? If any of these are answered “no,” it is likely that sexual assault has occurred. A person does not consent to sexual conduct if he or she is forced, threatened, or is unconscious, drugged, a minor, developmentally disabled, mentally ill, or believes they are undergoing a medical procedure.

 

Ignorance and Victim-Blaming

Akin’s comments reflect the common responses victims encounter—suspicious questions, doubt, victim blaming, bad science, and ignorance. These responses leave many victims feeling isolated and confused.

Because of the special attention paid to nuancing the type of assault—“legitimate” or “forcible”—for partisanship purposes, many victims feel blamed and as if they do not fit into the rigid qualifications of rape or sexual assault. This will cause some victims of assault and those who should be supporting them to downplay their horrible experience.

Akin’s ignorant comments and much of the political discourse that follows to defend or explain his statement will perpetuate the non-compassionate and misinformed response most victims receive, and will only intensify their pain.

Social psychology research on attitudes toward sexual assault has demonstrated that people in our society hold many prejudices about and negative views of sexual assault victims. Thus, victims often suffer not only from the trauma of the assault itself but also from the effects of these negative stereotypes. The result is that victims feel socially derogated and blamed following their sexual assault, which can prolong, continue, and intensify the substantial psychological and emotional distress the victim experiences.

Because sexual assault is a form of victimization that is particularly stigmatized in American society, many victims suffer in silence, which only intensifies their distress and disgrace. There appears to be a societal impulse to blame traumatized individuals for their suffering. One rationale is that this provides nonvictims with a false sense of security if they can place blame on victims, rather than on perpetrators. Negative reactions to sexual assault victims, such as attributing blame or responsibility to the victim, generally have been found to be greater for assaults by acquaintances (and especially dates), sexually active victims, less “respectable” victims, nonresisting victims, assaults in which victims used alcohol prior to the assault, and assaults in which victims engaged in nonstereotypical gender-role behavior prior to attack.

Blaming victims for post-traumatic symptoms is not only erroneous, but also contributes to the vicious cycle of traumatization. Victims experiencing negative social reactions have poorer adjustment. Research has proven that “the only social reactions related to better adjustment by victims were being believed and being listened to by others.”

  

A Theology of Sin, Violence, and Sexual Assault

Victims are not just statistics, but humans created in the image of God who experience a wide range of physical, emotional, psychological, and physiological effects.  The emotional effects of sexual assault are not just brain chemicals and physiological responses to stimuli, but they reveal what you believe about God, yourself, your experience of sexual assault, others, and the world.

The gospel of Jesus offers new emotions to victims, and ways to relate to their current emotions. Grace offers to victims the gift of refuting distortions and faulty thinking and replacing their condemning, counterfactual beliefs with more accurate ones that reflect the truths about God, themselves, and God’s grace-filled response to their disgrace.

Before we explore what God says in scripture about sexual assault and its effects, we must investigate what the Bible says about sexual assault, evil, and violence. Far from being a peripheral issue in the Bible, sexual assault is:

  • clearly depicted as a sin against the victim and God
  • mentioned frequently throughout the Bible
  • referred to as a symbol of how badly sin has corrupted God’s good creation
  • understood as a severe distortion of God’s plan for sex 

 

It is clear in the Bible that sexual assault is a sin against another person involving a physical, psychological, and emotional violation. Sexual assault is also a sin against God because the blessing of sexuality is used to destroy instead of build intimacy, and because it is an attack against God’s image in his image-bearers. Sexual assault is a sin against God because it violates his most sacred creation—human beings made in his image.

It is important to address the effects of sexual assault with the biblical message of grace and redemption. Between the Bible’s bookends of creation and restored creation is the unfolding story of redemption. According to the Old Testament, creation begins in harmony, unity, and peace (shalom) with God, other human beings, and nature, but redemption was needed because tragically, humanity sinned against God and his word and the result was disgrace and destruction—the “vandalism of shalom,” as Cornelius Plantinga calls it. This violation of shalom was a moment of cosmic treason before God, and plunged humankind into a relational abyss. Sin wrecks the order and goodness of God’s world, inverts love for God, which in turn becomes idolatry, and inverts love for neighbor, which becomes exploitation of others. Sin has defiled what ought to be.

Sex, the very expression of human union and peace, given by God to be pleasurable, intimacy-building in marriage, and the means by which his image-bearers would be spread throughout his good world, becomes a tool for violence after the Fall. Sexual assault is one of the most frequent and disturbing symbols of sin in the Bible. It is uniquely devastating precisely because it distorts the foundational realities of what it means to be human: sexual expression is perverted and used for violence, intra-personal trust is shattered, and disgrace and shame are heaped on the victim. Sexual assault creates in the victim’s mind a tragic and perverse linkage between sex, intimacy, and shame. It can influence how victims feel about themselves, how they understand connections and boundaries with others, and ultimately, how they relate to God.

But God does not leave humanity alone. Throughout the Old Testament, he promises to restore shalom through the promised Messiah of Israel and the hope of the world.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ occupies the central place in the New Testament, as the message of first importance. God’s desire for shalom and his response to violence culminates in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The restoration of shalom is fully expressed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and its scope is as “far as the curse is found.” Jesus Christ came into this violent world that was shattered by sin, and he suffered a violent death at the hands of violent men in order to save rebellious sinners, rescuing them from divine wrath, and supplying them with divine peace, mercy, grace, and love. The cross is God’s attack on sin and violence; it is salvation from sin and its effects. The cross really is a coup de grace, meaning “stroke of grace,” which refers to the deathblow delivered to the misery of our suffering. The sinless one suffered disgrace, in order to bring sinners grace. The resurrection is the vindication that shalom has been restored. Jesus is the redemptive work of God in our own history, in our own human flesh.

Trusting Jesus isn’t a faint hope in generic spiritual sentiments, but is banking our hope and future on the real historical Jesus who lived, died, and rose from the dead. Grace is available because Jesus went through the valley of the shadow of death and rose from death. Jesus responds to victims’ pain and past. The gospel engages our life with all its pain, shame, rejection, lostness, sin, and death.

So now, to your pain, the gospel says, “You will be healed.” To your shame, the gospel says, “You can now come to God in confidence.” To your rejection, the gospel says, “You are accepted!” To your lostness, the gospel says, “You are found and I won’t ever let you go.” To your sin, the gospel says, “You are forgiven and God declares you pure and righteous.” To your death, the gospel says, “You were dead, but now you are alive.” The message of the gospel redeems what has been destroyed and applies grace to disgrace.

  

Hope and Healing

Naming and describing the evil of sexual assault does not in itself accomplish healing for victims. However, it does provide clarity regarding sexual assault, and it allows for acknowledgment. If sexual assault is not defined, named, or described, then it remains hidden.

Telling the truth about sexual assault by acknowledging the traumatic experience is one important aspect of healing, but it is not the whole picture. Further healing comes as victims are able to interpret the effect of what happened to them within a larger pattern of meaning. The first step toward doing this is to look closely at the effects of sexual assault and the accompanying emotions.

Hopefully, this recent controversy will cause people to see that there is an epidemic of sexual assault, and victims need the kind of hope and help that only the gospel of Jesus Christ can provide. Tragically, most churches and Christians are woefully unprepared to help the one in four women and one in six men who have been abused sexually. Worse still, many Christian leaders (including parents) are ignorant of this epidemic because ashamed victims are reticent to simply declare what has been done to them, and untrained leaders do not recognize the signs of sexual assault or know how to inquire lovingly of victims.

What victims need is practical victim advocacy with biblical and theological depth, not the platitudes, suspicious questions, bad science, and shallow theology that is so prevalent.

We hope that while this controversy plays out politically it will encourage victims to ask for help, and that they will receive gospel-based help, hope, and healing. Thankfully, because of this controversy the issue of sexual assault is now a national discussion. This should encourage family and friends of victims as well as church leaders to learn how to respond and care for victims in ways that are compassionate, practical, and informed.

The disgrace that results from sexual assault has a way of grinding people down and heaping huge burdens on them.  Because of it people feel lonely, filthy, worthless, repulsive, hopeless, and unwanted. Our hope is that God will use the clear Gospel message to eliminate that disgrace and its effects. What victims need is for God to be strong when they are weak and for him to be close to the brokenhearted. We want people to experience God fulfilling his promises to them. We pray that God uses this controversy to heal victims and to apply the grace from Jesus deeper than the wounds people have experienced.

 

Grace for Victims

We pray that thousands of victims of sexual assault will hear the biblical message of grace and redemption. To victims, who know too well the depths of destruction and the overwhelming sense of disgrace, we want to communicate this message of grace:

What happened to you was not your fault. You are not to blame. You did not deserve it. You did not ask for this. You should not be silenced. You are not worthless. You do not have to pretend like nothing happened. Nobody had the right to violate you. You are not responsible for what happened to you. You are not damaged goods. You were supposed to be treated with dignity and respect. You were the victim of assault and it was wrong. You were sinned against. Despite all the pain, healing can happen and there is hope. (Rid of My Disgrace, 15)

 

Jesus responds to your pain and past. Your story does not end with the assault. Your life was intended for more than shame, guilt, despair, pain, and denial. The assault does not define you or have the last word on your identity. Yes, it is part of your story, but not the end of your story. The message of the gospel redeems what has been destroyed and applies grace to your sense of disgrace.

 

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Justin Holcomb

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