The Bible is the most widely read book in the world. It is also the best-selling book of all time, with an estimated 5-7 billion copies sold in the book’s lifetime.
It has shaped cultures, laws, institutions and the lives of billions.
For many, it offers hope, healing, and a moral compass.
But there’s a harder truth that we don’t talk about enough: the Bible also contains passages that promote or normalise, and sometimes even promote, violence against women and girls (VAWG).
This post isn’t about dismissing Christianity or telling anyone to start burning Bibles. I believe we’re all entitled to our own religious and spiritual beliefs.
But as someone who was bought up going to a local Sunday School, and therefore reading the Bible a lot, I think there’s space for conversation about how the Bible isn’t the scripture of peace and hope that it’s often plugged as.
It does talk about peace.
It gives hope to millions.
But it also has a dark side that we need to acknowledge and raise awareness about.
Instead of ‘Bible-bashing,’ this post is about recognising how religious scripture, especially when interpreted or applied without critical thinking, can reinforce harmful norms.
If we’re serious about ending gender-based violence, we need to be honest about how deeply rooted in society some of these ideas are.
Let’s look at just at 5 key examples of how the Bible promotes violence against women and girls.
1. Women Being Submissive to Their Husbands
Genesis 3:16
“Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
This verse follows the so-called “Fall of Man.” But look closer: it actually lays the foundation for patriarchal control.
The idea that women should be ruled by men is not only spiritualised here, it’s portrayed as part of God’s plan.
Centuries later, this notion still echoes through harmful teachings on marriage, sexuality, and gender roles.
In some communities, it has been used to excuse abuse. “He rules over you” becomes a justification, not a warning.
2. Women Can and Will Be Silenced
Judges 19
This chapter, in my opinion, is perhaps one of the most brutal and disgusting stories in the Bible.
In short, a man was travelling home one evening and stayed a night with a man who took him in. Knowing there was a stranger in the village, a mob of men came to the house and demanded to have sex with the man. The guy hosting him offered his virgin daughter instead (the first WTF moment). The man then also offers his concubine to the mob. The daughter isn’t mentioned again, but the story continues to tell us how the concubine is gang-raped and left for dead (the other WTF moment).
And I’ll just interject at this point and say that the daughter isn’t given an age. Whilst you could argue that this is irrelevant, given the period of time in history, it is most likely that she was under 18 and therefore a child.
What man willingly gives his daughter, regardless of age, to a mob of rapists?
And what man offers someone else up knowing that the gang are going to rape whoever comes out of the house?
For all of the books banned around the world, I struggle to understand why this story hasn’t been removed from a book that is supposedly ‘teachings’ of how to live your life.
But anyway, the next morning, the man finds her collapsed on the doorstep. He puts her body on a donkey, takes her home, and cuts her into twelve pieces to send across Israel. I’m assuming this is to send some sort of message, although what this message is, I really cannot fathom.
There’s no divine condemnation. No justice. No voice given to the woman.
Instead, her body becomes a message. Exactly what the message is, I’m not sure, but it’s sick and disgusting and has no place in a religious text that influences millions.
This story may be thousands of years old, but the dynamic is tragically familiar: a woman’s suffering is used to serve a man’s agenda. In my view, this story is an horrific example of how the Bible condones rape.
3. Marry Tour Rapist
Deuteronomy 22:28–29
I once watched a documentary about America’s child brides and sat in horror to find out that it’s perfectly legal for children to marry their rapist in certain states in the USA.
And note here that ‘marry your rapist’ laws are still in 20 countries around the world. Interestingly, this article doesn’t mention the USA, likely because different States have different legislation on this topic.
As it turns out, this practice can be traced to the Bible too.
“If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her… he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she shall be his wife.”
This isn’t just ancient culture, either.
This is law.
And it clearly prioritises the father’s loss of property over the woman’s trauma.
Her autonomy? Ignored. Her consent? Irrelevant. It’s disgusting that in 2025 these practices still happen.
This isn’t religion or ‘teachings,’ in my view. It’s promotion of child abuse, plain and simple.
4. Girls and Women as Prizes in War
Numbers 31:17–18
Yet another Bible verse that demonstrates how religion contributes to violence against women.
These words are attributed to Moses. You know, the guy who parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and to the promised land of God?
Well, after the heroism, God told Moses to send the Israelites to war against the Midianites. During the war, the Bible tells us that the Israelites:
“…took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.”
After the war, the Israelites are commanded to kill boys and women but keep virgin girls alive for themselves.
“Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”
I feel that when we talk about Moses, we conveniently forget about this episode and instead just focus on him being the saviour of the slaves in Egypt.
Yet this is just another example of sexual violence in the Bible. And this is in this book of religious teachings without shame or apology.
Unfortunately, this isn’t something that’s been left in the past, either. There are horrific examples of rape being used as a tactic in modern warfare. Examples that immediately spring to mind include wars that have occurred in the last 100 years in Rwanda, Japan and Iraq.
5. Wives Submitting to their Husbands
Ephesians 5:22–24
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife…”
This New Testament verse is probably one that I hate the most. To me, it paves the way for justifying men having dominance over their wives. Can I remind you that until 2018, it was still legal for a husband to rape his wife in Jersey? True story.
There’s nothing I can analyse about this extract. I just can’t. As someone who believes in individual autonomy, I do not understand why it’s ok to promote that a woman should submit to a man. It’s just wrong on so many levels.
I did find an analysis on the web stating that this verse is often taken out of context and that no-where in the Bible does it promote men abusing their wives.
However, in my view, the fact that verses such as this can be misinterpreted, and could be used to justify women staying in an abusive relationship, means that the damage is already done.
Yes, the Bible is open to interpretation, but if a specific understanding of a verse or story is considered the norm, then surely verses such as this have no place in religious teachings.
Why This Matters
The Bible is a book read by millions and used as a teaching for everyday life, globally. Stories from the Bible are preached from pulpits, written into policy, and passed down through generations.
While many Christians might reject certain teachings or certain interpretations of these stories today, in my opinion, the damage is already done. Because as a society, we continue to promote and use the teachings of a book that fundamentally promotes the suppression of women and girls.
Also, let’s consider how these teachings are miscontrued for the purpose of abuse. If you disagree with me here, watch Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey on Netflix.
And as a reminder, this post isn’t about tearing down religion or asking you to reject a lifestyle and religion you’ve followed all of your life. It’s about holding up a mirror and asking you to question the values and stories that have influenced billions of people for centuries and could be influencing your life.
After all, if the Bible has been used to justify violence against women, then surely believers and institutions alike must be part of the solution.
We must ask:
- How are these passages still being used, either consciously or not, to harm women and girls?
- What teachings in our communities echo these ideas?
- And most importantly, how do we challenge them?
