How to Participate
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Using your PulseWire journal, write about your own experience, thoughts and solutions on gender based violence. Include the tag Action GBV and your journal will join the campaign for a collection of testimonies and solutions on violence against women.
Join the group: Ending Gender Based Violence and collaborate for change.
By writing in your journal or in the group, your voice will join others in shaping the Man Up five-year campaign to stop violence against women and girls. Use your journal as an instrument for change!
Read your fellow PulseWire members' journals and dive into the conversation. Offer a comment to further the dialogue by asking questions, adding your opinion or simply showing support. Dive In »
Embody, the Fall 2010 edition of World Pulse Magazine, will include a feature story on gender based violence. Throughout this campaign, we look to you – our community – to weigh in by sharing your own thoughts and experiences to be considered for inclusion in the next magazine.
Additional Actions
International Violence Against Women Act
Send a message to your Representative and Senators urging them to co-sponsor the IVAWA! . Learn More »
Girls Deserve Better
There is opportunity now to change the law in Pakistan to better regulate domestic work and enforce laws that ban child labor. Learn More »
Say NO To Sexual Violence in Conflict
Make Women Count for Peace: Ask your government to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325. Learn More »
UNHCR/ S. Schulman
Ending Gender-Based Violence
PulseWire Action Blogging Campaign
As individuals, our voices have significance, but bound together as a global community of grassroots women leaders, our voices and actions have POWER!
Violence Against Women
The United Nations reports that at least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, raped, or otherwise abused in her lifetime—with the abuser usually someone known to her.
The consequences of violence against women are physically debilitating and a major cause of death and disability for women aged 15 to 44 years, rating higher than deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, cancer, and malaria.
However, the psychological and social consequences are equally devastating as the stigma associated with sexual violence and domestic abuse leaves women incredibly vulnerable and jeopardizes the well-being of families, fractures communities, and stalls the economic development of a nation.
CommUNITY Action
Dear PulseWire Sisters,
For most of the past decade and a half, I was a journalist focused on the lives of war-affected youth and women, around the world. As the father of a nine-year-old daughter I recognize more than most that the world into which she was born is not one that always loves little girls. So I began to envision a movement, a campaign, which could turn the tide, hopefully for good.
In collaboration with a tremendously dedicated team of colleagues and friends, Man Up Campaign was born. This is an international effort to activate young women and men to stop violence against women and girls in their communities through the arts, sports and technology. On the occasion of the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, we are formally launching this initial five-year effort through a Young Leaders Summit, with a second one to follow at the end of the year. More than 200 young people from 50 countries around the world will be attending these summits to be mentored and equipped for returning to their respective countries and starting the process of creating initiatives of their own design.
So, I proudly invite members of the PulseWire community to use your journals for sharing personal and observed experiences of violence against women, in any form. Share your ideas and suggested solutions so we can include your voices to ensure the success of the Man Up campaign.
The most successful movements are built on the ingenuity and hope of young people, whether one looks at the kids who marched in Selma or Birmingham; those facing the horrors of war in the Children's Peace Movement of Colombia; or, youth turning away from terrorism and armed resistance in Northern Ireland. Humbly, we walk in in the paths of those courageous efforts to build a new movement for this millennium which affirms and protects the lives of women and girls.
In solidarity,
Jimmie Briggs
New York-based writer, teacher, activist, and founder of the Man Up Campaign. His upcoming book, The Wars Women Fight: Dispatches from a Father to His Daughter, will be published in 2011. Read The Uncomfortable Silence, Briggs' recent article featured in World Pulse Magazine. Learn more about his campaign at manupcampaign.org
Uniting Our Voices and Collaborating for Change
In partnership with the Man Up Campaign, join us in saying NO to gender based violence. Tell us your personal and observed experiences of violence against women, in any form. Share your ideas and innovative solutions and use your PulseWire journal as an instrument for change.
Connect with PulseWire Community Leaders
Rita Banerji
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Zoneziwoh
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Halima Rahman
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Olutosin Adebowale
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K-lee Starland
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India
Cameroon
Sudan
Nigeria
United States
Comments
Dear All, Thank you for
Dear All,
Thank you for inspiring to write such coment as well as your info in terms of knowledge, skills, ideas and tools for combating GBV.
As you aware, Nepal also can not be isolated from such tragedy. As global scenario, Nepali women are also suffering from various fors of GBV since conception to death. We are doing few activities though neither policies are working nor peolicies are more concerete according to the needs of specific people and concerns.
Now, the new constituion is under process of finalization. despite all progress, the practice of impunity is more dangerious than others. So we should lobby for that.
Empower the women
I thank God for Pulse Wire because it is connecting us all and we are learning a lot from different countries and communities. GBV is indeed very common in every country and tribe. I believe there is a solution to every problem. I believe one of the solution is to enlighten our people on dangers of GBV. We have educated women among the communities I urge them to come out and educate women in rural areas through seminars/workshops. I believe when you educate a woman you educate the whole family. We should also be willing to go to our interior, work from the grass root get to know our community through spending reasonable time together. Be willing to learn from them and together identify some of the challenges they have and how to come up with the solution. Empower them in all areas but first Identify your target area and start from there. Through this networking I believe we will make it.
Kahinga Mumbi
Kenya
Authorities involvement is still in need
It's so sad to hear about the report and I believe collaboration will be the big solution to save the women community. I wonder how can we collaborate here. For me ,the biggest challenge is to start the action. I have some ideas and solution in my mind ,but to make them into practice is a challenge. It is possible to help the victims but it is quite difficult to save them before they become victims. In my opinion . authorities should open this channel and involve with fully support. Or we should have right to have such authority I believe. I f you have some comments or suggestions . I am happy to know.
Looking forward to hearing from you .
Sincerely
NI NI AYE
Social Inclusion
The issue of VAW is as old as history. I really do think that if we read the bible and used it to guide us in respect, and love for the females, then this madness the world is experiencing will reduce. However, we should further stand warned that the bible has been subject to varying interpretation and use of specific verses to dehumanize women. In the eyes of God we are created in his image and are bound to show love, humility, grace, respect. men should be educated in gender issues to understand that his role is to show love to the woman in a holistic manner.
The Culture of silence must be thrown into the dustbin
I was telling some group of women in a MDG program of retraining of the primary school teachers last week that the culture of remaining silent must be removed. There were about 200 women in attendance and the issue of Gender was a whole topic during the one week program. I was telling them that women must speak up, raise their voices, say No when they needed to and that they must be telling their pupils in their schools as they teach them issues on Gender. The girls must know at their tender age that they must say NO to violence against them and the boys also must know at that tender age that girls must be respected not bullying. At the end of the workshop, there were series of reactions, some men came to me that though i spoke strongly against them but they knew i was telling them the truth and that they were ready to listen more to their wives and daughter and that they would be helping them more now with the house chores. Though many of them were still vehement that their culture must be upheld. Women were so thrilled that they named me WOMEN LEADER at the end of the workshop. They encourage me that the crusade must be carried to every corners of Nigeria because so many women are ignorant of those things i was telling them.
At every opportunity, We should be rasing our VOICES
Agony of women and girls in armed conflicts
it is terrible to imagine what women and girls go through during armed conflicts. Women are raped and they are used as sex objects. They loose their dignity and are humilated. I am talking from my personal experience ( during the civil war in Rwanda in 1994). No body can tell the number of women who were raped at gun point during that time, you can only imagine what these women went through. How many of them were infected with HIV/AIDS and other STDs? Who have done that to them: our brothers, uncles, cousins, husbands, sons!!! The wound from rape never heals, you just learn to live with that.
What about our society/ Culture! Due to fear of being stigmased, most of women fear to tell their stories about rape, they keep it to themselves. This also make the healing process impossible ( they are many women out there who are dying in silence) because the more you speak out about your story the more you release the pain from your heart. As I was seeing what was happening, I asked myself why women had to suffer that much and yet they are not the root cause of fighting! " Why the International community could not establish the Safe zones for women, girls, children and vulnerable group of people during the war or vilent conflict.
Please remember all the women in all the countries that have experienced violent or armed in conflicts Rwanda, Burundi, DRC... .
Panzi Hospital in East DRC ( South Kivu also known as Bukavu) is an hospital that receive rape victims. Inquiery more about what women in DRC are experiencing.l Let us stand in solidarity with all the victims of rape all over the world. Lets us say no to GBV.
Jado
It is a sad situation because
It is a sad situation because many of these stories remain untold.In my community a good woman is believed to be one who is capable of staying quiet even when her rights are violated. Many women would prefer to be regarded as'' good'' and die in silence for the sake of their marriages.It is for this reason that only one out ot ten women who are victims of battering would voice out their plight even to close family members.Sometimes culture and traditional beliefs play a very strong role.It would be quite difficult to dissuade women from indulging in dehumanising widowhood rituals when they strongly believe if they fail to do so a curse would befall them.Sometimes some of the acts of violence are pepetrated by the women themselves on their fellow women.Like the case of widowhood rituals.How can the tradition of silence be eradicated and how can traditional belief systems that violate the rights of women be wiped out without causing conflicts.
Indian women face huge amount of GBV
Every day when we open our newspapers and television channels they are full of the GBV news.
The religion is the main cause of the GBV in our India,though India has proved to be a highly cultured country where women are supposed to protect the traditional values and uplift the Indian culture by their capability of high tolerance and where they think of letting everything let go.Here women are not at risk before marriage in their father's house where they enjoy all the modern facilities and are given full freedom inspite of this the in-laws are full of envy for not getting the dowry (an evil practice of giving the materialistic things to their daughters in marriage),at first this was dependent on the wishes of the girl's parents but slowly the parents of the boy thought it is their right to have these things from the girl's house and they ask for these things openly before settling the marriage if there is no from the girl's side, they at first agree for the marriage and after marriage the boy's parents physically and mentally exploit the women, the women in our society is lacking the deserved respect from their in-laws ,who are main cause of misery to the women as result the women have decided to refrain from marriages and are showing their revolt against this evil of GBV.
Nobody in our society has ever heard of violence against their son-in-laws they are respected in any way.I faced the same sort of violence as my in-laws are greedy though I stay away from them and this is a great satisfaction to me.
Time has come
Dear Kittyana, Thanks for sharing with us the experience. It is time for us to stand up and speak up and earsed that primitive notion form our people.
I feel we are gradually getting to the point, for a huge Change, and sooner we will overcome it and put an End to all sort of GBV against Women.
Stay Blessed
Zoneziwoh
Coordinator : Women Under 30
Blog: http://zofem.blogspot.com/
Website http://www.zoneziwohshow.com
Meritocracy,
depprivation of girl education and early marriage
In my community Hausa Fulani the girl child is deprived of modern education and send into early marriage. The menace of deprivation and early marriage in which I was a victim. The tradition/religious/cultural believe has to a large extend a vice used in subjugated and abuse against women in my community. I was send to marriage at the age of 9years. Had my first child as 11years, the hardship which cannot be overemphasis. I was deprive of modern education. I was abused, subjugated and deprived.
This vices has until today remained a menace in my community. My community has the highes rate of VVF. Women education for now is only for the elite. This has course unempowerment among the local poor. This comunity poor has little or no political culture, thus do not have meaningful political perticipation. The lack of modern education made them defenceless to their right.
Many of such poor girls are out there needing help. They are helpless and timid. They need you and me help. They are faceless and none existant. The Culture, tradition and religion that has been transform to believe has become so poweful that penatrating the walls of this community is like a camel entering the hole of the needle. Some of us that broken lose was with the help God andd destiny. The rich and the powerful pomote thses urgly vice at the detriment of women and the girl child, against the preaching of islamic religion.. Its so powerful that such discussion are not done in the open and with strangers. Great purnishment await rebel or diviates. That not withstanding silent operation takes place among the elites women by engaging used and dump women In house help jobsm
We need a strong network to reduce this practices to a large extend. We net yor support to get more elite women to stand up to it.
Safiya tani umar
bintu
So far
Initially, in my capacity, we began a programme among others on FGM which is highly prevalent in the regions i have work(ed) in (esp in Somalia) but then this proved to be sidelined on three levels (1) that where there is war the priority is obviously to secure life; (2) that there were other multiple and gross violations occurring on a daily basis; and (3) the mystification/development of Violence Against Women (VAW) to Gender Based Violence (GBV) to Sexual & Gender Based Violence (SGBV) and back to GBV.
So now we rethought our approach with the same resolve to make a significant difference on GBV in a failed state situation, and have sought the holistic women's human rights approach, encouraging early warning systems to prevent rather than cure, lobbying and advocating to relevant stakeholders (I mean everyone), and this is so far as we have come. I hope to keep you posted with greater results & that what I share here illuminates where it is bleak to see otherwise.
for now: el, KENYA
el,
Man Up
There is a new drive to educate men about violence against women. There are ‘dot-orgs’ popping up with names like mavaw.org (men against violence against women), menstoppingviolence.org, menagainstrape.org, etc.
These are all tools for us, as a society, to begin educating men and young male adults about their role and responsibility in the violence that is globally perpetuated against women. In California, at UC Santa Barbara, Men Against Rape held an event designed to create awareness in college-aged boys about their role, control and accountability for sexual assault against women. Apparently one out of 3 college age women is sexually assaulted during their college years. Wow!
One of the True/False questions young men had to answer was whether their “penis is an instrument of power?” Therein lies the problem. Around this globe men use sexual assault as a mechanism to hold or wield power over women. Whether its civilized men in the developed world, intellectually curious men in the halls of universities, age-old men in the third world who know no other way, or men conducting wars for some un-proven cause that may or may not be worth the sulfur the expend to execute it; men use assault against women as a tool of power.
So the campaign to educate must be two-pronged. On the one hand we have to work toward the global education of women and girls so they can be economically self-sustaining as well as socially aware of better options. On the other hand we must latch onto this infant campaign to educate young and adult men to understand that violence against women is not a “women’s issue”. It is perpetrated by men and is thus a “men’s issue”. Men can control violence against women in large part. They must be educated to exert that control.
The U.S. Bureau of Justice estimates that nearly three of every four victims of family violence are women. An estimated 1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of all rapes of females happen before the age of 18, and 22 percent of those happen before the age of 12. This is only in the US. Global staistics are more apalling.
Women can’t fight the battle against violence alone. Until we can get the men on board, we will forever be saving little girls from brothels and placing women into rescue shelters.
click onto some of these sites and check out the new scene… and pass the word to all your friends, even the men.
mavaw.org, menstoppingviolence.org, mencanstoprape.org, menagainstsexualviolence.org)
see other posts at: http://www.womenfound.org
Maryam Shargh-Zar, JD.
Founder, Womenfound, Inc.
www.womenfound.org
The G(irls) 20 Community
I must say the Man Up campaign is very inspiring and fills me with hope. Coincidentally, yesterday I posted something on my blog about violence against women in Brazil - and relating to my experience and Zainab Salbi's speech in the G(irls) 20 Summit, held in Canada, in June 2010.
Check it out if it interests you: www.thais.girlsandwomen.com
Thaís Moraes
www.girlsandwomen.com
www.reactandchangebr.com
gender based violance
in our country(tanzania)women rights rare highly violated and due to those violations women have dicided to fight for themselves eg.in RUVUMA tanzania women have strted to fight against there hyusband few days ago two women have killed their husband due to marriage problems.yes we can succed if we fig ht as agroup.
GBV in Italy
During the last month 6 Italian women died: they were killed by their ex-boyfriends because they had the strenght to stop a relationship made of jealousy, violence and personal limitations. These women decided that it was time to wake up and to end up a relationship that was no longer love but only possessive. They had the courage to act and react but what for?
Their lives found a drammatical ending and in most of the cases even for the families left behind there is no justice, because the perpetrators of these deeds killed themselves.
Most of these women, after ending up their relationships, became victims of stalking and went to the police because they did not feel safe. Unfortunately, stalking is a growing phenomenon that is up to now not properly considered and punished. In some rare cases, women and men, too, find justice but they don't know for how long their peaceful living will last. And this uncertainty is limitating in every-day-life and blocks personal development.
I think, even stalking should be seen as a form of violence many women are subject to. And the victims are by far more than we can imagine. It is a psychological form of violence that can degenerate in physical violence. And it is subtle and latent. This is maybe why, in global and international agendas the problem is not very present.
Physical violence in all its aspects and facets (and there are too many still existing all around the world) is more visible because it leaves signs but psychological violence and pressure is invisible and creates a lot of harm. It diminuishes the self esteem and self-consciousness of a woman. And no one talks about it or considers stalking as it is: violence that generates even more violence.
In the campaigns against violence in every form and everywhere men should be included, too. It should be worked with them to understand the causes of their violence and give them different approach to their violence: transformation of the negative energy of violence into something positive and productive.
Thanks to everybody who shared her/his ideas on the blog
Sincerely
Eliana
Eliana
Amand's ideas
That is innovative way way of addresssing GBV yet women abusers are on the increase in Kenya and other parts of Africa. We shall borrow your ideas to address GBV in our project area of Transmara ,Kenya.
thanks
Caroline Nangeya
Men Menning UP!
Dear Jimmy Briggs - I have spent several years now working with A Window between Worlds (awbw.org) and Haven House, (www.havenhousela.com) the first domestic violence shelter of it's kind, founded in the 60's here in So. Cal.
I teach creativity/writing/art to women in crisis and domestic violence survivors so I see, hear and witness the issues facing these women and their children first hand - the abuse is VERY real. Having been trained by the State of CA in domestic violence education, I know that the US and the world are just beginning to wake up to domestic violence issues - for example, many police dept's around this country still believe that the woman provoked the beating, the man is hardly at fault. Many countries believe women are nothing more than chattel - and yet, these women still keep going, a testament to
"what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
I recently taught a class for WIndows and their Survivors Art Circle on fear - befriending it, making it useful and ultimately learning how to live with it, for it never truly goes away. Women who have left their abuser even years and years ago, still have wounds and scars that are healing ... the beautiful thing to know about these women is that their courage and determination is remarkable - to never ever "see themselves through his eyes" again is a promise they keep to themselves and their children.
I applaud your efforts and would like to introduce you to a remarkable man named Victor La Cerva MD, who is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In 1984, VIctor co-created the new Mexico Men's Wellness Movement and works with young men mentoring them on how to be peaceful, not violent. If you would like to connect with him, please let me know - I will be seeing Victor next week and will make the introduction.
I wish you my best - please let me know how I can be of greater service - patricia varga, A Woman with Wings
Patricia Varga | A Woman with Wings
P:626.403.7575 | C:626.354.5710
www.womanwwings.com
Thanks for your effort in the
Thanks for your effort in the issue of GBV. Furthermore, thanks for using PulseWire to connect people with similar ideals! I have posted this entry in Voices Rising, where I thought it would benefit many readers there.
"what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Dear Patricia,
I read your comment with such much joy, indeed! Yes! "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
Here in Cameroon, as much as the police reason in same thought like those in the US, but my concern is on whether these polices are women or men. I assure you that most of them are men and what else do we expect, the men are all over the top positions and decision makers, with very few women representing the actual voices/cry of women. that doesn't surprise me at all because if the state officials actually respected the full implementation of UNSCR 1325 which demands for full participation of women in decision making, peace talks, UNSCR 1820 calling on measure to end sexual abuse during conflicts with proper sanctions to those who propagate the act, that said belief ; the woman provoked the beating wouldn't be mentioned.
In addition to the inadequate expertise trained to handle sensitive issues like GBV, VAW etc where the very few skilled are the men who sometime doesn't proof to be gender sensitive.
Do we have to keep waiting because we are informal skilled? No! now is the time to speak out, and lead the stage.
many thanks for sharing your experience with us
I look forward reading more from you, your experience and best way forward in Ending GBV.
Zoneziwoh
www.zoneziwohshow.com
Stay Blessed
Zoneziwoh
Coordinator : Women Under 30
Blog: http://zofem.blogspot.com/
Website http://www.zoneziwohshow.com
Meritocracy,
WE DONT NEED SYMPATHY BUT EMPATHY
Women have been subjected to sympathy in my country(kenya) and you find people talk of affirmitive action and deep inside women are not fully empowered.I would be glad to see women support themselves for presidency and even be given industrial jobs but it has always been about masculinity which has driven lots of ethusiastic women away.But what I would love is women or rather young girls and women be educated on life skills which will enable them have lots of self esteem and even create awareness of their capability.Any way I am looking for someone with a heart to help me in helping this young people from my home where culture has been rooted and is used to demoralise women in our society.We have formed a group called women for one another and I have geared towards enrolling more than 1000 women where we learn life skills and create self awareness.If there's someone out there who is willing to support these women Please dont hasitate to call:+254 071423 8859.
Re: Armand's Idea
Armand, that is quiet an excellent strategy in involing men/ boys in the GBV advocacy. yes! I feel quiet ok with that approach but just as Jade said; it seem quiet simple and yet many women are still victims of violence.
Stay Blessed
Zoneziwoh
Coordinator : Women Under 30
Blog: http://zofem.blogspot.com/
Website http://www.zoneziwohshow.com
Meritocracy,
Haiti's Nurses
As I read this article about ending gender-based violence - the timing couldn't be more perfect. I want to tell you about what the young student nurses of Leogane, Haiti have just been discussing in their public health nursing class this morning - a class that I am here teaching: There are 5 men and 17 women in this class. We asked the men to give us their ideas about how men can help to reach the MDG of gender equality - specifically - to curb the violence against women here in Haiti - violence that has taken a dramatic up-swing since 1/12/2010. A bright young Haitian man, Armand Marah, offers his suggestions:
*Men should educate other men about why it is bad to hurt women - about the bad effect it has on children and women, and how it is bad for them
*Men should show by example - show respect and be good to women
*Men should protect women
*Men should join-in with women in groups and organizations and with politics - it should not be just women who work to stop it
Simple, eloquent and powerful ideas that apply to us all....Thank you for your article.
Michele
Nurses for Nurses International
To learn more about the school of nursing here in Leogane - please visit the Haiti Nursing Foundation at www.haitinursing.org (I do not work for them - I am here as a volunteer)...Thank you..
Michele
http://nursesfornursesinternational.com
Armand's ideas
Dear Michele,
Thank you for sharing the solutions from your exercise with nurses in Haiti. When Armand put it in those terms, it seems so easy... yet millions of women are abused worldwide. But by sharing Armand's solutions, and by talking about it, teaching our loved ones these principles, we are taking steps towards ending the violence.
I hope you'll continue to share news from Haiti about the great work you're doing there with Nurses for Nurses International.
I re-posted this in your journal - I hope you don't mind. But I wanted to bring more visibility to your voice, and Armands. You can see the post in your journal here: http://www.worldpulse.com/node/22318
If you would like to continue participating in this Action Blogging Campaign on Ending Gender Based Violence, please join the group and share more about your work and experiences.
http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire/groups/22295
In solidarity,
Jade