Description:
Against the background of the often female-focused view of sexual abuse victims, this paper addresses the issue of male-identifying victims of sexual violence through the lens of the Bible. I tackle one particular form of sexual abuse: female-on-male sexual violence, of the "forced/made to penetrate" type through a re-reading of Genesis 19:30-38. Bearing in mind that this narrative was written in a social context differing in multiple ways from current societies, I, nonetheless, hope to show its relevance for contemporary practices and thinking. In order to do so, this paper intends to show how the story of Lot and his daughters, as told in Genesis 19:30-38 informs and challenges current perspectives on typologies of female sex offenders. Additionally, in analysing the broader context of the narrative of Lot’s rape by his daughters, the present study aims to incorporate theories of traumatic family systems, all while evaluating in what way this system is present and how it affects the intrafamilial violence. The paper first situates the problem present in the Biblical narrative, and then evaluates the narrative against typologies of female sex offenders and theories of systematic abuse. Next, it assesses the daughters of Lot under a multiform perspective and considers their identity as both victims and abusers. Finally, it aims to show how a biblical narrative could critically inform current typologies of female sex offenders and provide insights considering abusive systems.