Forgetting or forgiving – are they mutually exclusive or necessary parts of the same coin for survivors of sexual violence? The politics of forgetting would suggest that they are the same, that forgetting requires some level of forgiveness. Otherwise the mental exercise is essentially moot and you, at the core, hold onto a hurt […]
Colorado Springs and What It Means for The #WarOnWomen
The term “Black Friday” means something different for the residents of Colorado Springs, Colo. after what transpired in their Planned Parenthood the day after Thanksgiving this year. Robert Dear entered the Planned Parenthood building, and after a five hour long event and police standoff, surrendered to police after hospitalizing nine, and killing a police […]
Action, Learning and Gender in Mozambique: A Pause
By Solange Rocha and Michel Friedman, Gender at Work, Facilitated by Oxfam Canada “I met myself again and valued myself more, not only at work but in my whole life, day to day” (participant’s comment) In music, a pause means the sound of silence, a time between notes. For participants in our Gender Action Learning Process […]
Support Healing Space for Survivors of Rape and Abuse: Give to the Monument Quilt Tour
The public reaction to survivors of rape and abuse publicly disclosing their experiences is often messy and problematic. From high school students to news anchors, the American public struggles with how to support survivors of sexual violence. We live in a country where it is safer to commit an act of rape that to publicly […]
Rape as a Weapon of War
Rape became politicized during last year’s election. Extreme conservatives favored the modifiers “legitimate” or “forcible” while feminists countered with the slogan, “Rape is rape.” When a woman is raped during an armed conflict, rape takes on a different character. Rape becomes a weapon of war -− a cheap weapon of war. Under any circumstance, rape […]
Transforming Personal Pain Into Positive Action: The Pixel Project’s 16 Female Role Models 2013
Yesterday was the first day of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence 2013 campaign and The Pixel Project is kicking things off with our 4th annual list of 16 female role models fighting to end violence against women in their communities. The intent of this list is simple: to highlight the good work […]
No Jail Time for Man Convicted of Raping 14 Year Old Girl – Take Action NOW
She was 14 when he raped her the first two times, 18 when he raped her the third time. He has since been arrested, charged, and convicted of his crimes. But a judge altered his sentence to include fines, probation, and community corrections for non-violent offenders – in other words, not a day of jail time. Now, his victim is speaking out, and thousands are calling for justice.
What does violence against women look like?
I thought a long time about sharing the photo on the left, but decided to because we have so many others that glorify violence against women and turn into a joke or a game – like the advert on the right, which is one of many similar ones where violence against women is glamourized. Sexy is […]
The relationship between domestic violence and chronic health conditions
Domestic violence (DV) affects about 35% of women in the U.S. and the physical, emotional, and psychological trauma these relationships cause are well-documented. We rightly celebrate the women who are able to overcome the tremendous barriers to leaving abusive relationships as survivors, but disturbingly, many of these women have lasting health problems years—or decades—down the […]