Current news resonates with past victim

In recent months, several tragic events have come to the forefront via the American media. Recently, the biblical story of Esther has been my reference point in my peripheral view of the world as we know it. The story of Esther has challenged me to think more critically about what it means to be a “little fish in a big pond.” However, the deeper I study, the more I have come to realize that the life of Esther is tragic.

My consciousness as a preacher and student of theology cannot allow me to continue to speak of Esther in the public square without connecting Esther’s horrific reality to the reality of women who are abused and assaulted by powerful men. I would be remiss if I did not say that, like most things that I stumble upon in the academic world, it all comes back to home.

I was sexually assaulted in my college dorm room at the age of 19. Like most young women, I did not report it. I realized several years later that I lacked the tools to deeply understand my power as a human being. I lacked the tools because I grew up in a community where we simply did not discuss sexual assault. It was almost as if it did not exist and if so, it happened because the woman “asked for it.”

The time for shaming children who have bodies that will inevitably grow and develop is over.

Tabatha Holley

Dawson, Ga.