He Will Bring Justice
Rachael Denhollander is an accomplished lawyer, a mother, and the first of 330 women to publicly accuse Larry Nassar of sexual assault. 16 years after being assaulted Rachael delivered the last of 204 victim impact statements given at Nassar’s sentencing.
So, I ask, how much is a little girl worth? How much priority should be placed on communicating that the fullest weight of the law will be used to protect another innocent child from the soul-shattering devastation that sexual assault brings? I submit to you that these children are worth everything. Worth every protection the law can offer. Worth the maximum sentence.
I remember the first time I read Rachael’s statement. I was floored by her clarity, resolve, and righteous anger. As I read more statements given by victims/survivors it became clear that her words were not an anomaly but one of the many women using their voices to the fullest extent while bearing immeasurable pain.
In 2020 I became aware of a scheme providing young filmmakers the opportunity to make films for BBC platforms on issues that mattered to them. I immediately knew this was the story I needed to tell. I wanted to make a film that drew attention to the ways the criminal justice system is failing victims/survivors while also celebrating those who continue despite this. To highlight how victims/survivors are subject to dispassionate questioning, forced to publicly re-live trauma, and expected to fit the model of the ‘ideal victim’. Dance seemed like the perfect tool to express these internal conflicts and make the theatricality of the courtroom literal.
I was fortunate enough to receive funding for the project and collaborated with many fantastic artists on the film. The film was broadcast on BBC 4 and is now available to watch online: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bmy97d
The week following the film’s release Rachael Denhollander visited London for her first speaking event in the UK. Here she shared how her faith changed the way she looked at injustice. Throughout the trial, she clung to this quote from C.S Lewis,
“My argument against God was that the universe seems so cruel and unjust. But how did I get this idea of just, unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he first has some idea of straight. What was I comparing the universe to when I called it unjust?”
Given the trauma, she had experienced and the numerous stories of abuse she had heard in court it would have been easy, reasonable even, for Rachael to turn to God and say “Do you not care? Where is the Justice? Where are you, Lord?” But instead, she drew closer to God, learning more of his character,
“Whoever designed this world cares even more deeply about the crooked and straight and I can trust him to bring justice because he knows even greater than I do that it is far from what he created”
When we speak of God’s wrath, it can often make us feel uncomfortable. How can we reconcile a loving God with this kind of punishment? As Rachael so helpfully explains,
“Don’t we intrinsically know that a God who is loving brings justice for those who have been harmed…Forgiveness is releasing my personal desire to harm Larry. Not releasing him from the consequences because God will bring justice.”
For those who have been harmed the only right response from a loving God is to bring punishment for sin. With God justice is always achieved. Even with the act of forgiveness, the price is always paid. The Christian model of forgiveness is the only model that is grounded in justice. When we look to the cross, we see God’s justice and God’s love most powerfully. In a world with a flawed criminal justice system that so often fails victims/survivors, this is a comforting truth.
Reassured by the knowledge that God will always achieve justice we should be even more emboldened to fight for victims/survivors. This term at PFE we’ve been reading through Ros Clarke’s 40 Women. Each reading sheds light on the hidden stories of women in the Bible.
We recently came to the story of The Concubine and saw the wickedness of humanity in all its horror. Ros Clarke notes how we can follow the example set by the Israelite’s response to the rape and murder of the Concubine.
“Speak up. Speak out. Make the secret things known. Make the shameful deeds public. Make the nation see which horror they have been complicit in. Compel them to make amends. Force them to do better and to take up arms and fight.”
How will we respond when this evil happens in our community? On our street? In our church? When there is a cost to us? Whatever the cost we must speak out and act. Just as our God despises injustice, we must do everything in our power to protect and support those harmed in our communities. We all have a role to play in speaking out for the voiceless.
You can watch Rachael’s full conversation here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgItKYkTGg
By, Alice Johannessen.