Gender-Based Violence: No reason, No Because, No Excuse.
Something is terribly wrong.
We are turning the page on another #16daysofactivism campaign meant to ensure all people across our globe, stand up and say no to violence and no to abuse – of any kind, anywhere. But we are witnessing that still today, Gender-Based Violence is too often met by either whispered acknowledgements or silence , by either some form of justification or blatant distrust.
Shocking but True.
Today is #HumanRightsDay and since Women’s Rights are Human Rights – can we not reflect together on reactions or lack of reactions we are seeing across the globe and collectively decide to stand up collectively, without shame, fear, and say #NeverAgain?
The discomfort, unease, or unwillingness to express support to the victims – many who did not survive to tell their story – is astounding, terrifying, but I have to admit its not all that surprising.
As a woman who has been supporting and working with victims of abuse for years – the reactions we are seeing today on the global stage mirror the ones many victims of gender-based violence get when they do speak up : from questions bordering on distrust, to silence, to reactions of discomfort. Waves of acknowledgement and support are much rarer than you may think.
And seeing these very same reactions – specifically around the barbaric gender-based violence that took place in Israel October 7th, a mere two months ago – means we haven’t really made much progress.
So perhaps its time for us to change the way we educate our children, our families, our countries. Maybe it’s time we stop turning our heads because we feel powerless or ill-positioned to speak up.
Now, you may indeed think the sexual violence which took place then and there – is different.
You may think that the context in which this occurred set it apart, or that the land where this occurred somehow justifies the violence … and so that’s what makes it difficult to speak up.
You may be debating moral or seemingly ethical considerations – fear that voicing support to the victims somehow means you condone the aftermath.
Understood. Let’s help each other process our reactions but then take a really hard look at what this means.
Let’s be honest with ourselves. Consciously or unconsciously, the pervasive fear of violence, of rape, of sexual abuse & exploitation, lives in everyone of us.
It makes people uncomfortable – mostly because we know its there, weaved so deeply into the makeup of our societies that sometimes its almost accepted as just part of our worlds. So when it comes out screaming for all to see – – we can’t handle it, we feel powerless.
Yet, somehow, we know it’s there.
Why else would we raise our daughters to be careful and know of this violence?
That’s because unfortunately no girl, no woman, is ever 100 percent safe, 100 percent protected from the eventuality of such violence.
What happened October 7th is a staunch reminder of that. This time though it was live cast into our living rooms, streets, offices, phones, and lives in unprecedented ways.
And worse, what we have witnessed is naked, systematic, and all-to-neatly planned horror – purposefully filmed for all to see – of unspeakable cruelty.
Its simply unfathomable.
So maybe its time to stop turning our heads, or doubting, or denying. Lets face it, admit it, acknowledge it, not dare excuse it, and certainly not let it be drowned out by context or circumstances or politics.
Allow me to be perfectly clear.
To the rapes, to a woman having her foetus ripped out of her womb, to girls being tortured in the way that they were…. to any form of gender-based violence – -
There is no justification, there is no because, there is no excuse.
Neither October 7th nor in any other instance.
None whatsoever.
And no – recognising the atrocity that did take place for all of us to see – does not mean you condone the consequences of it either.
All people, regardless of their origins, beliefs, faiths – are today victims of the terror waged October 7th.
Recognizing the atrocity, however, does mean recognizing that to this day women continue to be weaponized in one form or another, embroiled in wars which most often are beyond them.
Recognizing the atrocity, however, does mean recognizing that to this day women continue to be weaponized in one form or another, embroiled in wars which most often are beyond them.
Unfortunately it’s far from new, and unfortunately, we know all too well that sexual abuse and exploitation is not only embedded in nearly all conflicts being waged since the beginning of time – -
It also means recognizing that to this day, too many women around the world continue to suffer one form of abuse or another.
Gender-based violence comes in many forms : physical abuse, sexual exploitation, psychological, financial, emotional – whether at home, in the streets, in schools or at work – whether cultural or not, whether politically instilled or not, whether direct or indirect.
I spent a large part of my life working across 4 continents to give people a voice, particularly women and girls, so that solutions – whether in situations of conflict/post-conflict, peace agreements negotiations, electoral processes, or in discussions around sustainable development – be truly inclusive and reflect their realities.
There’s been one common thread throughout the various groups I’ve worked with : and that’s been their vulnerability, our vulnerability, to gender-based violence – and this, regardless of widely varying education or economic status, urban or rural dwellings, and regardless of whether they are from the north, south, east or west.
1 in 3 women are victims of gender-based violence. Year after year, these numbers have yet to change.
Let’s come together, transcend boundaries, raise awareness, build consciousness- we can never say that gender-based violence of any sort was deserved or that it happened because…
There is No Because!
There is No context – there is No excuse, No justification, No explanation to be had.
It is horrific, barbaric, and must also be a wake up call and a reminder that yes – still today – countless women lose their lives, their souls, their dignity in the face of gender-based violence around our globe.
It must also be a stark reminder that our individual and collective responsibilities in thinking and shaping the world of tomorrow are far from met – and we still have a long road ahead.
Today is Human Rights Day, today is Women’s Rights Day.
Pause, think and act now.
Together let’s say enough, no more, never again.
