MEMAHAMI KONSEP TEOLOGI TUBUH DALAM REFLEKSI KISAH DINA (KEJADIAN 34) DAN RELEVANSINYA DENGAN KASUS KEKERASAN SEKSUAL PADA ANAK DI KOTA KUPANG

Abstract

This paper focuses on a reading of the story of Dinah in Genesis 34 through the lens of the theology of the body to understand the abuse of power and its relevance to sexual violence against children in Kupang. Using Richard R. Osmer’s method of practical theology and Elaine Graham’s approach to theological reflection, the study of the body theology, positions the body as a locus of revelation and a political space that resists patriarchal domination. Textual analysis confirms that the events that befell Dinah reveal the silencing of the victim’s voice, a shift in the narrative focus toward family honor, and the use of sexual relations as an economic-political tool, resulting in the victim experiencing “double discrimination”—both by the perpetrator and by family or community structures. The construction of the theology of the body offers a correction to the body-soul dualism and calls for a reconceptualization of the body as a moral and theological subject that must be respected. This paper ultimately concludes that the body theology can enrich theological and practical responses to sexual violence against children by challenging taboo culture, dismantling discourses of honor that silence victims, and promoting a new theological renewal regarding the human body.