Violence Against Women… no end in sight (yet)
I’m back with the same rant. Again.
Year after year, I wake up dreading today because it’s such a stark reminder of the little progress we’ve made — and how far we still have to go.
Today, November 25, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Historically, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women originated from the 1960 assassination of three political activist sisters in the Dominican Republic — Patria, Minerva, and María Teresa Mirabal — known as “Las Mariposas” (the Butterflies). Their murder fueled public outrage. Today, throughout the Dominican Republic, young children grow up learning the tale of the brave butterflies — now a well-known symbol across the country.
November 25 has been widely recognized and honored by women in Latin America and the Caribbean since 1981. In 1993, the UN General Assembly defined violence against women as resulting in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women in public or in private life. In 1999, the UN formally recognized this date.
In theory, today marks a global promise to end the violence affecting the lives of millions of women and girls around the world. This violence isn’t only physical or sexual — it can be emotional or economic as well. Or multiple forms at once.
And there are so many different ways this manifests — intimate partner violence, rape, sexual harassment, girl-child marriage, and much more. It exists in every country. Every culture. Every religion. Every place. Even where you live. It impacts women and girls at every age and stage — from the fetus to the funeral.
Violence against women is the most widespread — and most condoned and best hidden — human rights violation of our time. Of every time. It is nothing short of a global pandemic. If moral reasons aren’t enough, if our rights to live lives free of violence aren’t enough, there’s an economic argument too. Violence against women costs the world $1.5 trillion USD annually. For reference, that’s around 2% of the global GDP — roughly the size of the entire Canadian economy — and it covers both direct (like emergency healthcare services) and indirect (like lost wages) costs of violence. Not a cost we should be willing to pay.
And — the most obvious cost is the toll it takes on the woman herself. Violence against women ruins lives. And families. And communities. And countries. This trauma ever carries down intergenerationally.
And — I hope we don’t need clarity on this point — but no matter where when how or why, the fault is never ever with the survivor. It is always with the perpetrator. Only.
And yet, year after year, we see such little progress. Why? We can’t we fix this one thing!?
1 in 3 women and girls worldwide will experience some form of violence within their lifetimes. Think of three women you know. Now pick one. Yup.
And that’s only the reported cases! Women and girls still remain reluctant to report cases of violence because of shame or stigma, fear of being revictimized, or because perpetrators too often get away with it.
And if women do report, the law is hardly ever on our side. Today, a majority of women still live in countries without legal protections from violence. The statistics are staggering. A woman dies because of assault every ten minutes somewhere around the world. Yet, globally, there are only 16 pieces of legislation that hold perpetrators accountable for femicide.
New forms of violence against women are also being created all the time. For instance, technology-facilitated violence, meaning things like cyber-harassment and other forms, are becoming a serious problem — and they do not remain confined to the virtual world.
Other forms of violence against women are rooted in strictly-held traditional beliefs. For instance, it is estimated that over 200 million women have experienced female genital mutilation/cutting. Climate change and conflict also fuel increased violence against women. Resource scarcity, food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, and displacement also increases these risks for women and girls. For instance, rates of rape dramatically increased in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 as a result of displacement. Every single crisis. Every single time.
Our news feeds are inundated with images of dismembered women and girls in Gaza, IOF soldiers parading around in displaced/murdered Palestinian and Lebanese women’s undergarments, reports of large-scale rape and sexual assault in Sudan, draconian edicts in Afghanistan aimed to erase women from public life, cybersex deepfake crimes against girls in South Korea, the ongoing Gisèle Pelicot case in France…. And these are just a few examples.
I’m SCREAMING. When will it end!?
I despair every day. But hope is not lost. There are lots of good people protecting women and girls every day all around the world. From advocating for our right to violence-free lives in the halls of power to financing local women-led empowerment efforts, we have been making strides. By now we’ve all heard of Tarana’s Burke’s MeToo Movement — still going strong. In fact, we’ve seen a significant uptick in interest across the United States following Trump’s presidential victory in similar movements such as the 4B Movement from South Korea and elsewhere around the world.
I do as much work as I can with global women’s movements. Here’s one example: I have the honor of working alongside the awesome activists of ChalkBack, a youth-led movement working tirelessly to make the streets safer for women and girls.
And I continue to advocate for one of the best ways to make a difference: fund women’s organizations. This isn’t difficult, but we still don’t do it right!
Local, grassroots, feminist organizations and movements are one of the best ways to help curb this epidemic. From delivering life-saving care to advocating for protective legislation and providing critical community-based education, these organizations are on the frontlines. Yet, despite this, only one fifth of one percent (that’s 0.02%) of all overseas development assistance goes to reducing violence against women. And when it does, it is often restricted, short-term, or driven by donor visions. Nope. Wrong.
Another way to make a dent is to ensure that women’s voices are everywhere, on every table, every stage, every platform, every board room. Women lead the charge for change. Women know exactly how to defend and protect our own bodies, rights, communities, countries. It’s not just about tokenistic representation of women in leadership — it’s gotta be the real thing. And we’re still not there yet either. For instance, we still have never had a female head of the UN. Or the US. Not acceptable.
And finally, be informed. Learn, read, write, act — whatever. I blog, write, rant, speak, post on these issues every single day. And if you don’t know where to start, I’ve created a Feminist Firestarter — an activist calendar to get us all moving. Head to www.LinaAbiRafeh.com and Join the Movement — you’ll get the Firestarter and my monthly newsletter filled with bite-sized activism.
Whatever you do — do SOMETHING. Silence and inaction is never an option.
The louder we get, the sooner we’ll end this.
