Violence, The Vulnerable, And Hope For 2015

As 2014 ends and a new year begins, the media has been replete with reflections on what has occurred and what we can anticipate in the coming year. As I engaged in my own set of reflections and projections, two separate media pieces struck me.

 

 

The first was this Washington Post piece entitled, Religion Plays Large Role In Major Headlines From 2014. While the piece specifically mentioned Pope Francis, it unfortunately focused on only one news making event, the Synod on the Family, rather than his full resume of astounding accomplishments during 2014. In fairness, the Pope's crucial role in Cuban - American relations had not been announced at the time of the article. However, his continued activism on issues of the most vulnerable, his reform of the Vatican Bank, his movements forward on issues of clergy abuse and the environment all deserve mention as important ways in which the Church can and has affected public policy. The Vatican Press Office summarized the Pope's achievements as "a culture of encounter," underscoring his effect at galvanizing the world to humility and action - an effort that would be welcomed in any secular policy making body.

 

The second article regarding 2014 that caught my attention was one outlining crime and violence here in Washington. While crime continues to remain fairly constant and historically low in many cities, such is not the case for women and children. This piece outlines the disturbing trend in the Washington area of an increase in homicides involving - not street crime or drug violence - but domestic violence and child abuse. With much discussion of high profile domestic violence cases dominating the headlines for their natural news cycle and then delving into victim blaming and normalization, this commencement of a new year should remind us to move into action to protect the millions of women and children vulnerable because they are just that: women and children.

 

The fact of the matter is that it is dangerous to be a woman or a child in the world today. For example, the 2014 UN Global Report on Trafficking In Persons observes that 82% of trafficking victims are women and children, with children a rapidly increasing category of victims.

 

That is not the worst of it. As we watch the news cycles, we see that this is becoming accepted as the reality of the world. It was April when hundreds of Nigerian girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram...and the world was outraged. Now, they are largely forgotten and, in the words of the New York Times, "[s]even months later, the drone flights have dwindled, many of the advisers have gone home and not one of the kidnapped girls has been found." Two years ago children were slaughtered at Sandy Hook, and today little has changed to end this type of violence.

 

As we pivot from 2014 to 2015, we may want to combine these two themes of religion and violence to make new headlines. My hope for 2015 is that we recognize that victimization for the vulnerable is often a complex problem that demands a long term commitment in response. We should follow Pope Francis's lead and move from humility to long term action on behalf of those most vulnerable...and recognize that "long term" means more than one news cycle.