“The New York Times has a powerful editorial…slamming the Pentagon’s new sexual assault report, which praises the estimated 19,000 sexual assaults or unwanted sexual contacts in the last year as progress. As The Times says: “The total number of assaults is too high by orders of magnitude and the incidence of reporting is far too low. Only a very small fraction of those who experience assaults are reporting them, and an even smaller number are sufficiently confident of their fair treatment in the military justice system to actually pursue an official investigation. As usual, only a tiny number of the complaints resulted in a conviction.” Please take a moment to read and share this editorial to spread the word about the need to pass the Military Justice Improvement Act, so we can create a fair, impartial and independent system of military justice for our brave men and women in uniform. #passMJIA.”
Play Your Part to End Violence Against Women | UN Women
November is not only National American Indian Heritage Month, as declared by Former President George H. W. Bush, but it is the month that houses the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Nov. 25). Who can possibly have a problem with that?
You’d think no one. However, when I posted this article on my Facebook page the day that it cycled around to me. I got a seemingly nasty note from someone I consider a dear friend. We’ve been friends since girlhood, even sharing the same Brownies Troop. I love her like a long lost sister. So why the anger?
I don’t think the anger was directed at me. I think it was directed at the powers that be who have allowed this gender inequality to go on for thousands of years. We’re both one of the 1 in 3. We can both claim that ‘status’ several times over. Despite everything that has been thrown in our paths to beat us down, we’ve chosen to stand back up and continue. We both agree that humanity must make a change in how it raises their children. That starts with feminism – or gender equality, if you prefer.
As UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Nicole Kidman writes, “Imagine a world free from violence against women and girls. A world where equality and respect and justice are not just ideals, or possible for only a few women and girls, but the norm for all of us. Each of us has a role to play to make this happen. Play your part.”
I agree that we all must play a part. The earth is our home, and we are all human. We have invisible borders that keep us separated into groups that we continue to believe are more meaningful than the greater story of us. These borders and group affiliations only serve to separate us, and to keep us accessible to the abuse of those in power. That perpetuates domestic violence and rape, not of just women and girls, but of boys and young men. That cycle feeds the 1 in 3 women and girls will experience some form of violence in her lifetime. It’s time we make the change we want to see in the world.
Read Kidman’s statement on The Huffington Post:
