Date Rape Is A Crime - Not Sex!

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Date violence is a serious problem in America.

The most vulnerable years for date rape are last two years of high school and the first two years of college (16-19 years of age).

According to one survey, 1 in 4 college women are the victims or rape or an attempted rape. 84% of those raped knew their attacker. 57% of the rapes happened on dates. A rape is committed every 6 minutes in America. 50% of the victims are teens.

 

 

If you or someone you know is raped then…

Go to safe place and immediately contact a close friend or family member.

Go to a medical center immediately and have your injuries treated and the necessary testing done. (Don’t change your clothes or shower before going.)

Report the rape to the proper authority. It gives you the option to prosecute later. This is one way to fight it in the community.

Seek counseling even if you choose not to report it. You need to talk to a trained rape-crisis counselor. (Rape Crisis Center – 1-800-886-7273 or check your phone book for a local chapter).

 

Remember date rape is a crime. Rape is not sex!

 

The legal definition of rape is one person forcing another person to engage in sexual activity against the second person’s will. Forcibly and against one’s will can be a verbal threat where the second person consents out of fear.

As a crime, there is no statute of limitation on rape. It carries a penalty of up to “life” and not less than 10 years.

1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 7 boys will be sexually molested before they reach 18 years of age in America.

Don’t let the devil tell you that you are damaged goods as a result of rape.

God does not view date rape as sex but as a CRIME (Deuteronomy 22:25-29). 100% of the blame belongs with the assailant.

 

“But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. Do nothing to the girl; SHE HAS COMMITTED NO SIN deserving of death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor.” (Deut.22:25-26)

 

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me (Jesus Christ) you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

 

IF YOUR DATE BECOMES SEXUALLY AGGRESSIVE, be assertive with saying no and explaining why. Don’t hesitate to use your cell phone and call for help. Consider carrying a friend’s number with you as part of an emergency back-up plan. Also, always carry enough money to take a cab or bus home.

 

 

I don’t want to hear or read about you what I am about to write about Dinah.

 

“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her by force (rape).” (Genesis 34:2)

 

The two families got together and agreed to give Dinah to Shechem in marriage. This violates so many different biblical principles that it would require another book. But let me mention a couple of them.

First, the Bible states that a believer is not to marry an unbeliever.

 

“Do not be bound together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14)
“Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife?” (1 Corinthians 9:5)

 

Second, a crime was committed against Dinah by Shechem.

 

“Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the fields as soon as they had heard what had happened. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter – a thing that should not be done.” (Genesis 34:7)

 

Third, this story has a terrible and tragic ending.

 

Dinah’s brother killed Shechem and his father and all the young men and plundered the city. They did it in the name of justice. Two wrongs don’t make a right (Gen.34:25-29).

 

When asked why they did it, listen to their reply, ‘should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?” (Gen.34:31) But she wasn’t treated like a prostitute. She was treated as a victim of crime!

 

YOU CAN’T LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY IN THE EYES OF GOD WITHOUT CONSENT. THEREFORE, YOU CAN’T LOSE IT BY RAPE.

YOU CAN’T LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY WHEN CONSENT IS USED AS SELF-DEFENSE BECAUSE OF THREAT. THEREFORE, YOU CAN’T LOSE IT BY RAPE.

 

God does not blame the victim of sexual crime. Therefore, if you are a victim of such a crime, don’t you blame yourself nor let others blame you! GOD LOVES YOU UNCONDITIONALLY IN CHRIST.

 

“And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:16)

There are seven ways you can minister to a victim of rape or sexual abuse.

1. Reassure the victim of God’s unconditional love and your unconditional love.

2. Accept the victim’s story and immediately have it investigated.

3. Accept the victim’s self-worth unconditionally. Don’t interrogate with phrases like, ‘why didn’t you do such and such.”

4. Be a patient listener. Let the victim tell it her / his way on her / his terms and time.

5. Encourage the victim to seek professional help immediately.

6. Be sensitive to behavioral changes in the victim resulting from the trauma and shock of rape.

7. Help the victim to regain self-control over her life again.