Including Jesus in the #MeToo movement is a step too far

The mood was set when one writer talked of her joy as women added what she called their ‘war stories’ in solidarity. There was the contentious #HimToo list which named and shamed prominent men, without verifying the veracity of the claims

Protesters march at a MeToo gathering in California (AFP)

Jesus has been tagged into the #MeToo movement, which makes me wonder if the bandwagon is running out of control – each day brings fresh allegations, most of which happened many years ago.

#MeToo has been cathartic for so many women, ushering in a new era, a chance to recalibrate how the sexes behave towards each other. On the other hand, though, isn’t it time to redefine who is a victim and what can be called out as sexual abuse? Is it enough to claim abuse because you FEEL violated, when what happened wasn’t a criminal offence, just an unexpected and uninvited invasion of your privacy and your personal space?

The adult film star and businesswoman Stormy Daniels, whose television interview was watched by 22 million people last weekend, says she is definitely NOT a victim. She claims she found herself engaged in sex with Donald Trump back in 2006 because she chose to – although he denied it. A few months later, when he’d failed to get her a slot on his TV series, she didn’t put out a second time – proving that the so-called sexual charisma of a powerful man doesn’t always work.

Many of the #MeToo victims recount finding themselves in a same situation – but does being groped in a hotel room make you a victim, or should you just be annoyed because you messed up by going there in the first place? Stormy Daniels turned up expecting to go out to dinner after Trump had phoned. She had dressed up – but he opened the door to his room wearing just pyjama bottoms, clearly with a different agenda. From that moment on, Stormy was not a victim, but a woman who had made a dumb decision. Now she’s is at the centre of a legal storm as her counsel threatens to force Trump into the witness box to testify she’s telling the truth.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, is countersuing for defamation over her allegation he paid her $130,000 (£92,600) just before the start of the presidential campaign in 2016. Stormy finds herself pilloried by Republicans and the religious right and the butt of countless bawdy jokes – but her feisty character and robust attitude deny her victim status, even though (in my book) she has done nothing wrong but seize a chance to exploit a tawdry situation to her benefit.

By encouraging thousands of women who have experienced sexual harassment to label themselves “victims”, maybe the #MeToo campaign could end up demonising men, and talk feminism into a new puritanism.

The mood was set when one writer talked of her joy as women added what she called their “war stories” in solidarity. There was the contentious #HimToo list which named and shamed prominent men, without verifying the veracity of the claims.

There’s so much to admire about #MeToo, but there are dangers and downsides.

This weekend is a sacred time for Christians; the time to remember the sacrifices that Jesus made. Katie Edwards – a University lecturer whose field is defined as “rape, culture, religion and the Bible” – a pretty wide net – has co-written an article claiming that Jesus was a victim of sexual abuse because he was stripped naked and stabbed with a spear before the crucifixion. According to the gospel of St Matthew, Roman soldiers removed Jesus’ clothes before he was nailed to the cross.

Edwards reckons that he was subjected to “an act of sexual violence and abuse … a powerful display of humiliation and gender-based violence”. According to the authors, designating Jesus a victim of sexual abuse helps the church engage with the #MeToo movement; that the wounds inflicted were “penetrative”.

Their use of emotive language is offensive and trivialising – there’s no need to tag this slow and painful death “abuse” to make it “relevant” in a modern world. The crucifixion was a disgusting form of torture and had nothing to do with sex. Jesus can’t be called a victim – he was clearly a higher power, guided by a divine calling. To call him a victim is to diminish his message and empower his attackers.

This Holy Week, the victims I salute are the brave women who fought for the serial rapist John Worboys to remain in jail. It was inconceivable that he should be released on probation and yet that was the horror they have lived with for months. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has now ruled he must remain incarcerated, as the police receive fresh allegations from new victims.

Formerly a taxi driver, Worboys is thought to have drugged and raped over 100 women in the London area over a number of years – and yet the police prosecuted him for a small sample of 19 offences involving just 12 victims. Warboys only admitted guilt in 12 cases and has paid out £241,000 to women who sued for damages. Two victims – whose cases were not thought strong enough to prosecute – put themselves through a legal challenge to his release, facing their attacker in the courtroom.

Women who were drugged and raped by Worboys are true victims, and deserved better treatment than this protracted legal battle which must have caused huge emotional stress.