The Harvey Weinsteins Among Us: Intimate Partner Violence and Faith Communities IV

This article was previously published in The Huffington Post

A young woman shares with me that she had recently been in an “uncomfortable incident.” She and her “boyfriend” were active at a Christian college and had dated a few weeks. He was well respected, a leader among the students, and had the “best prayers” according to faculty and students. He was charming, attractive, and charismatic. She felt lucky to be with him.

A few weeks previously they were in his car on a date. They had parked in a secluded area (she had never been), it was dark, and they were, as she described it, “making out.” At one point her back was against the passenger side door and he was over her, on top of her, and putting his hands between her legs. They had agreed not to “go all the way,” and she had reminded him two other times. However, it had come to a point where she, in her words, “gave in.” She stopped talking and stared at her plate. That was as far as she wanted to share “the incident” with me. Read more…