Eyiekhrote Vero
Pfutsero
Recent events have once again shocked our communities. News of a minor being sexually assaulted has stirred anger, grief, and countless discussions. As details emerge, many demand justice. Others search for explanations.
Yet amidst the noise, one question continues to surface in different forms – Whose fault was it? The answer, at one level, is clear.
The responsibility for such a crime rest with those who chose to commit it. No victim, whether child or adult, should bear the blame for the deliberate actions of another. The fault belongs to those who violate, exploit, and abuse.
Yet even as we acknowledge this truth, society often struggles to apply the same principle consistently. Too often, victims of abuse are questioned more intensely than perpetrators. Their choices are examined. Their actions are scrutinized. Their character is debated. Meanwhile, the responsibility of the offender becomes diluted by endless speculation about circumstances.
Such thinking not only fails victims but also obscures the real problem. Sexual violence is not merely a legal issue. It is a moral issue. It reflects a failure to recognize and respect the dignity and humanity of another person.
In moments like these, it is easy to direct our anger toward one group or another. Some blame men as a whole. Others blame families, institutions, or society. While these discussions may contain elements of truth, they often miss an important reality: lasting change begins when individuals take responsibility for their own attitudes and actions.
The problem is not simply that some people commit crimes. The problem is that respect for human dignity is often neglected long before those crimes occur.
Sexual violence does not begin with an assault. It often begins much earlier—with attitudes that fail to recognize the dignity of others. Every degrading joke, every act of objectification, every comment that reduces a person to appearance or utility chips away at the respect that healthy relationships require. While a joke itself may not be a crime, repeated messages can shape the way people think about and treat one another.
When people are consistently viewed as objects rather than persons, exploitation becomes easier to justify. When dignity is diminished, abuse becomes easier to ignore. A society that tolerates attitudes of disrespect should not be surprised when acts of disrespect eventually follow.
This does not mean that every joke leads to violence, nor does it mean that everyone bears equal responsibility for a particular crime. The offender remains accountable for their actions. Justice must be pursued. Victims must be protected. Communities must support those who suffer.
Even when justice is served, the wounds often remain. Many victims continue to carry fear, shame, self-doubt, and social stigma long after the incident itself. While offenders may eventually complete their sentence and return to ordinary life, victims are often left to wrestle with memories, emotional pain, and scars that can endure for years.
The tragedy is often compounded when those around them respond with suspicion rather than support, judgment rather than compassion, or silence rather than understanding. Instead of helping victims heal, society can unintentionally deepen their suffering.
This reality should move us not only to seek justice for victims but also to walk alongside them with compassion, support, and care. Justice may address the crime, but healing often requires the presence, encouragement, and love of a community willing to bear one another's burdens.
If we truly desire a safer society, punishment alone is not enough. Laws can restrain wrongdoing. Courts can punish offenders. Institutions can enforce accountability. These are necessary and important. Yet none of them can transform the human heart.
If we desire lasting change, we must address not only criminal behaviour but also the attitudes that make such behaviour possible.
We must teach our children respect. We must model healthy relationships. We must reject the objectification of others. We must cultivate self-control, empathy, accountability, and genuine concern for the wellbeing of others.
Scripture reminds us that every human being bears the image of God. This truth applies equally to men, women, and children. Every person possesses God-given worth and dignity that must never be violated. To abuse another person is not merely to harm an individual; it is to disregard someone created in the image of God.
The tragedy before us should therefore lead to more than outrage. It should lead to reflection. What values are we teaching? What attitudes are we tolerating? What examples are we setting? What kind of society are we building for the next generation?
A victim should never have to carry the blame for the sins of another. Nor should victims be burdened with responsibilities that belong to perpetrators.
Let justice be pursued. Let victims find protection and support. Let offenders be held accountable. Let society learn respect.
Yet Scripture teaches us that the deepest problem is not merely external but internal. Sexual violence, exploitation, and abuse reveal a deeper problem within humanity. Evil actions flow from hearts corrupted by sin. Therefore, if society desires lasting change, it must pursue more than stricter penalties; it must pursue moral and spiritual transformation.
The answer is not merely teaching people what not to do. The answer is cultivating hearts that genuinely value others as people created in the image of God.
Men must learn to see women not as objects to be desired but as persons to be honoured. Women must learn to see one another as fellow image-bearers worthy of dignity. Communities must learn to reject attitudes that degrade, objectify, exploit, or dehumanize.
The gospel calls us beyond outward compliance to inward renewal. It calls us to repentance, self-control, humility, purity, and love. It calls us to see others as God sees them—not as objects to be used, but as people to be valued.
Only when hearts are transformed can relationships be transformed. Only when relationships are transformed can communities be transformed. Only when communities are transformed can societies be transformed.
The question before us, therefore, is not merely, "Whose fault is it?" The answer to that question is clear.
The greater question is whether we are willing to confront the attitudes, behaviours, and sinful patterns that continue to rob others of their dignity.
May we pursue justice without prejudice. May we show compassion without reservation. May we honour the dignity of every human being. And may we seek the transforming grace of God, through which hearts, relationships, and societies can truly be renewed.
