One Billion Rising
I feel so moved by this video... it's for the One Billion Rising campaign to demand an end to violence against both women and men:
(the vid is kinda intense...)
If anyone is unclear about what feminism stands for, this vid should help clarify the issue.
Women are abused in so many different ways... and often, I think, it's because the abusers, who are mostly men, have suffered violence themselves... feeling powerless, they then abuse women in an erroneous attempt to gain power back.
It's the same reason why people abuse children... or why men abuse other men. Why nations abuse other nations... it's all about a cycle of violence... physically and psychologically.
It's irrefutable, however, that women generally suffer in a particular way that men do not. This needs to be continually highlighted, because it seems that the issue always fades into the background with so many other crises blaring on the radar these days. But it's still of critical importance, and it may be one of our deepest problems... because women have a special ability that men do not... which is giving birth. Women need to be strong and healthy in order to bring strong and healthy children into this world. Not to mention breastfeeding... or simply, the love that a child deserves from a mother. If women are continually abused like they are in the world today... the whole world will continue to suffer.
Some info on the subject:
- "The 2008 Copenhagen Consensus estimated that undernutrition causes 35 percent of the disease burden in children younger than 5 years old, and that the nutrition of children 5 years and younger depends strongly on the nutrition level of their mothers during pregnancy and breastfeeding." Malnutrition
- "The rate of abuse by partners is estimated to be around 20 to 25 percent in the European Union, other, smaller studies have found, although the problem is reported to the police in only a tiny fraction of cases. In the United States, national surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that about 25 percent of women said they had been physically or sexually assaulted by a spouse, partner or date." Domestic violence plagues women worldwide, study says
- "In 2008, 12.3 million individuals were classified as “forced laborers, bonded laborers or sex-trafficking victims.” Approximately 1.39 million worked as commercial sex slaves, with women and girls comprising 98%, or 1.36 million, of this population." Sex Trafficking: Trends, Challenges and Limitations of International Law
- "U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics states that 91% of rape victims are female and 9% are male, and 99% of rapists are male." Rape statistics
- "According to the American Medical Association (1995), sexual violence, and rape in particular, is considered the most under-reported violent crime." Rape
I feel empowered, learning about this campaign and all the people rising up around the world. Like so many of my sisters, I too have suffered from sexual assault... so I know from experience how damaging the effects can be. And of course, I'm not alone. This movement will be a way for women to join hands on a global scale... to give voice to our grievances... and to declare together, that we want an end to the violence!
There is much healing that needs to be done... and it's on the way ~♥~~♥~~♥~
I also appreciated Amy Goodman's segment on the campaign: Eve Ensler on Democracy Now
ps. special thanks to ((( Kate ))) for sharing the links on the campaign :)
