Good News for Victims of Rape

By Dr Anne Dryburgh

Good News for Victims of Rape provides a biblical basis for counselors who are seeking to help female rape victims. It clears up common myths surrounding rape and gives insight into how this trauma impacts all aspects of their lives. Christ's transforming hope is shown through scriptural teaching about how He defines the victim and brings life out of evil. This book will help her to know and trust the Lord while living out who she is in Christ.

 

Editorial Reviews

I am thankful Anne Dryburgh has published this short book on caring for rape victims. You can read it in a couple of hours but will reflect on and refer to it for many years to come. Her clear writing style and obvious experience have given me a deeper understanding of the horrific and pervasive impact such assault has on victims. Such understanding is a necessary prerequisite for providing sensitive and appropriate biblical care. Anne equips her readers with the wisdom, sensitivity, and theological finesse she has been employing in her care of women over many years. In reading this book, you have the opportunity to be used by God to help women move from victim to victor in Christ, from shamed to redeemed daughter of God. Though short, this book addresses the complexities involved and is filled with plenty of relevant Scripture—providing a resource that I know I will return to time and again as I care for women.

Jane Kratz

Th.M. in Biblical Counselling

Care and Women's Ministry Coordinator Hope Church Auckland Park, South Africa

Chair of the National Board of Biblical Counselling, Africa

Member of ABC & BCC

 

In the United States, one in five women will be raped. I'm sickened even typing that horrific statistic. Biblical counselor, Anne Dryburgh, has written this book specifically to equip Christian women who are seeking to help female victims of rape. Anne combines thorough, current, relevant research, personal compassion, and biblical wisdom as she journeys with helpers through the relational and biblical process for bringing compassionate care and gospel hope to women who have experienced the horrors of sexual assault.

Dr. Robert Kellemen

VP/Academic Dean/Professor of Biblical Counseling at Faith Bible Seminary, Indiana, USA

Author of Gospel-Centered Counseling and Gospel Conversations

 

Written with an unusual and refreshing depth of understanding, compassion, and biblical wisdom, this book is a gift to Christian women (and men), counselors, and church leaders. Anne Dryburgh effectively dispels myths surrounding rape, shows how the Bible honestly addresses this unspeakable form of violence, and gives the reader an important understanding of its life-altering effects. Best of all, the author gives spiritual friends an example of how to bring gospel hope and help to victims by directing them to the stabilizing character of God and the newfound freedom and identity found in Jesus Christ alone.

Paul Tautges, D.Min

Pastor, Cornerstone Community Church

Founder, Counseling One Another (blog)

Author of Anxiety: Knowing God's Peace (31-Day Devotionals for Life) and A Small Book for the Hurting Heart

 

About the Author

Anne Dryburgh, Ph.D., is a biblical counselor certified by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC), the International Association of Biblical Counselors (IABC), and The Addiction Connection, a collective of biblical counselors and ministries united for the purpose of training and equipping the Body of Christ in biblically helping addicts and their loved ones. She has been a missionary with Echoes International in Flemish-speaking Belgium since the 1990s and partners with a number of biblical counseling organizations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Illumine Press
• Release date: Feb 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781739871987

Book preview

Introduction

Rose was innocently enjoying herself during a well-earned summer vacation. She had counted down the days until she could go to the beach with her best friends. Like so many others, she met a handsome, friendly young man who showed interest in her. Despite her intuition, on her last evening, she went for a late-night walk with him along the isolated beach. Then it happened.

All her life, Gayle wanted to serve the Lord by working with children. She was a good student and had always earned straight A’s. Gayle wanted to use the intelligence the Lord had given her in a way that would honor him and would serve others, so she decided to study medicine to become a pediatric doctor. She conscientiously applied herself to her studies at medical school and continued to make good grades. This effort was noticed by one of her professors who offered to tutor her after class. Gayle accepted the help for months and was deeply grateful for the professor’s efforts. Then it happened.

Pastor Dave had been at the church for five years. He was well-loved and highly respected. The youth group had seen new growth since he became pastor, primarily because he took a genuine interest in the lives of the youth and answered their spiritual questions aptly. People were coming to the Lord as he reached out to the community.

One Sunday evening, Karen was late leaving the church. She had spent a long time catching up with her girlfriends while arranging speakers for the women’s Bible study. Time slipped by without her notice, and now she was the last one in the building, except for Pastor Dave. Then it happened.

Judith had been walking around the college campus on a bright summer’s day. She felt safe because she thought other people surrounded her. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind and dragged into some bushes. Then it happened.

Rose, Gayle, Karen, and Judith are real people who all grievously experienced the horror of rape. They are all lovely Christian women. Rose, Gayle, and Karen knew and trusted the perpetrators to different extents. Judith’s attacker was a stranger. Other women I have met over the last almost 30 years have suffered in similar horrendous ways. Shockingly, one in five women, and one in 71 men, will be raped at some time. In eight out of 10 cases of rape, the victim knew the perpetrator.¹

This book is for Christians seeking to help women like Rose, Gayle, Karen, and Judith. Over the past decades, I have walked with women and heard their stories as they struggled to rebuild their lives. I have heard others express their inability to support them because of the complexities involved. Grievously, I have also heard and seen the trauma experienced by victims as well-intentioned others implied that they were to blame in some way for the attack. Other women were not taken seriously, told to get over it, or only given the advice to forgive the attacker. Spending time with these women has impacted my life and has resulted in this book. It is written to provide a basis upon which help can be given. It is intended for Christians who want to offer biblical support to women who have been through this trauma.

Rape is so horrendous that it is difficult for us even to begin to comprehend the depths of suffering these women go through. When we seek to help survivors of rape, it is essential that we understand what they have experienced so that we are equipped to support them appropriately. Thankfully, there is hope in Christ. He can meet these women in their suffering and redeem it as they trust him.

You will find three appendixes at the end of the book. Appendix A practically explains how the cross applies to the victim. Appendix B examines what it means for her to be redeemed and belonging to God, and Appendix C explores the crucial life-giving truth of justification.

I recommend using these truths to consider how to help victims make practical application of the information presented here and help them understand how they can be transformed from being a victim to living as a new creature in Christ. By no means do I claim to address every issue that a victim may experience, but I do pray that this book may provide insight and help as you care for these dear women. I hope that the truths in this book will help bring the victim to a place where she may come to know the Lord and his help in her life, experiencing him and his sufficiency in all areas.

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1 National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Get Statistics. Sexual Assault in the United States, Accessed May 9, 2019. https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics

1

What is Rape?

When we seek to help a woman who has been raped, we must understand what has happened to provide compassionate and loving care. According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), sexual assault includes, among other things, rape. ² Sexual assault involves sexual behavior without the consent of the other. ³ Consent is when a person freely agrees to participate in the activity and has the freedom and capacity (i.e., age and understanding) to make that choice without constraint. ⁴ They cannot be asleep, unconscious, intoxicated, have a mental restriction, be too young to understand what is going on, or be undergoing a medical procedure.

Assuming that both freedom and capacity to consent are present, the crucial question is then whether the party has agreed to the activity by choice. A perpetrator ignores objections when he coerces, or intimidates the victim, uses physical force or violence, deceives or threatens the victim, or abuses a position of authority. Sexual assault includes attempted rape, fondling or unwanted sexual touching, forced sexual acts including oral sex or any penetration of the perpetrator’s body, and rape, according to RAINN.

Reviews for Good News for Victims of Rape

[Oliver Meyer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another biblical counseling help by author Anne Dryburgh. Anne approaches this difficult subject with personal compassion and sensitivity.

In the first chapters she defines and explains various forms of female rape and several misconceptions that surround this traumatic experience.

The chapters on the physical, mental, and emotional impact of rape on the victims and those who are in relationship with them are very insightful for counselors who want to lovingly help victims. In the chapter on the victim’s thinking, Anne lists several Bible passages that can positively impact the thoughts of the victim. She does this by focusing on several attributes of God that will give hope to the victim.

The last third of the book is dedicated to the view of Scripture about rape. Anne’s main goal in this section is to show how a victim of rape can experience Christ’s loving transformation.

Anne gives three examples of rape that can be found in the Bible. But most of this section shows the Lord’s view of oppression and suffering. Christ himself experienced violence, shame, rejection, and humiliation. But most important, he gave his life and bore these things on the cross on behalf of victims of rape who trust in Christ.

Throughout the book, Anne’s compassion and empathy for victims of rape can be felt. Her advice is practical and deeply based in the Scriptures.

I was given an advanced copy for review, but this is my honest opinion.

[Shannon Kay McCoy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good News for Victims of Rape by Anne Dryburgh is a must-read for anyone who is looking to support and care for women who have experienced the trauma of rape. Anne’s extensive background and experience as a caring biblical counselor shine through in this book. She uses biblical narratives as a roadmap to equip the reader with how to guide the rape victim to the love, grace, and redemption that can be found in Jesus in a way that is both sensitive and biblical.

This book is not just about providing information, but about equipping the reader with the tools and knowledge necessary to have the confidence to help victims navigate this journey. Whether you are a biblical counselor, church leader, friend, or family member, this book provides valuable insight and practical guidance on how to help victims find hope, healing, and peace in Jesus. I highly recommend this book and believe that it will be a very useful resource in your counseling toolkit.