How do we deal with the causes of violence?
We have all been shocked by the brutal circumstances of the death of Sarah Everard. It has released a longsuppressed anger against the violence so many women fear and do experience. Police faced an impossible task in handling demonstrations during the Covid lockdown. But Clapham Common will linger in the memory for years to come.
By coincidence, protests were happening across the country at the same time as the Domestic Abuse Bill was being debated in
Parliament.
Women and children are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic abuse and the Bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, was expressing the Church’s solidarity with them by working to get this piece of legislation through the House of Lords.
Meanwhile the protest banners were eloquent and powerful. There was affirmation of a fundamental right to protest – even in a lockdown – and the importance of reclaiming the streets from the threat of violence, in any form, that faces every woman.
I was also very struck by the banners that
HOLY WEEK
Join Chichester Cathedral in the week leading up to Easter as they follow the last days of Jesus, from his entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, through the Last Supper to his crucifixion and resurrection.
This year’s schedule of activity for Holy Week responds to the passage: “For in hope we were saved” (Romans 8:24-27).
The passage encourages us to look to said, ‘Educate your sons’. This touches on a fundamental issue: how to deal with the causes of violence against women.
How would we educate our sons so that they become safe citizens?
First, we have to acknowledge this task as a shared responsibility. It demands commitment from every element of our society to the emergence of culture in which violence against women, against any person or creature, is unacceptable and shameful.
This will be a coalition of schools and colleges, of sport and entertainment, of social media in transmission of any
the future with optimism, to focus on the events of Holy Week and Easter in a way that is empathetic of our current circumstances: of the pandemic, those it has affected and continues to impact.
Whether you are joining in person, or online, there will be opportunities to worship, reflect and observe Holy Week and Easter regardless of your location.
Visit www.chichestercathedral.org.uk/ worship/live-streamed-services for more information material that degrades another person.
Second, there needs to be convincing, confident role models who demonstrate a wide range of ways to be a safe man in any context, public or domestic.
Third, families need support in undertaking this task, of promoting the attractions of being a safe man, and the shame of allowing any boy not to be.
Last week the Church also celebrated the life of St Joseph, an ordinary workman who taught Jesus about a father’s love and a husband’s honour. A contribution to the nation’s consideration of how to educate our sons.