Sexism and misogyny have been in the headlines recently, complete with debates about the language used to describe women. Language can define culture, so it’s understandable Prime Minister Julia Gillard took a stand against the way some refer to women.

But just as language can diminish a gender, it can also be used to fight for equality with great effect. That’s what is happening in the Solomon Islands, a tropical paradise with a dark underbelly. This group of Pacific Islands, not far from Australia, has one of the worst rates of domestic violence in the world. It is a nation in which two out of three women have suffered physical violence at the hands of a partner. So I was encouraged when I was there recently to see how World Vision is working to reduce the epidemic of domestic violence being suffered by some of our nearest neighbours.

In this small nation, domestic violence is a generational problem, so embedded in cultural and family life that it has become cyclical. Sons see their fathers abuse their mothers and these young men, instead of becoming leaders against violence, turn their own anger and aggression against those they love. It’s a cultural epidemic that permeates all levels of society in this overwhelmingly Christian nation. But it is one that cannot go unchallenged.

Thankfully, an innovative new approach to the problem is making significant inroads and it’s the church that is in the forefront of tackling the problem. In this poor, geographically remote country, the church is the heart of the community. But it had been untapped in efforts to combat domestic violence.

Emerging from that realisation, World Vision began working with church leaders on a program called ‘Channels of Hope.’ About 97 percent of the Solomon Islands’ population is Christian, and in the past passages from Scripture have been used to compound gender inequality.

Most of us would be aware of biblical passages, in particular from Paul, which appear at first reading to justify the subordination of women. Ephesians 5:22-24 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15 are just two that come to mind. By challenging long-held interpretations of the place of women in the Bible, Channels of Hope facilitators are teaching what these passages are really about–that, when taken in the context in which they were written, they actually encourage men to treat their wives and partners as equals.

Channels of Hope is bringing a sense of hope to the men of the Solomon Islands, teaching them there is a different way to live their lives. And we have found the desire to change their lives is strong. One religious leader who had been through the program told me it had given him the means to question the assumptions he had always made. “I just assumed I was the boss-man,” he said. “Now I understand we’re equals.”

The effect that programs like Channels of Hope are having range far wider than making homes safe for women and children. They also generate economic and social benefits that come when women are able to contribute fully in society. When women feel shamed or bruised, or made to feel they are less than men, they are not productive. We know gender suppression is linked to poverty, and we know the economic and development benefits gained by countries where women are participatory citizens.

In the words of Hebrews 4:12, the Word of God is living and active in the Solomon Islands. When the Bible is taught and used in its proper context, consistent with the character of God and the wider biblical story, whole societies are transformed and we see more evidence of the kingdom coming.

Featured image: flickr_http://www.flickr.com/photos/globalcitizen01/