In Honor of V-Day

Saturday, February 14 is not only just Valentine's Day. It is also V-Day, a worldwide movement of people dedicated to raising awareness about violence against women. The campaign was begun by Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monolouges) eleven years ago. She travels the world, often with another noted activist, doing speaking tours, concerts, etc in order to raise money and awareness. This year, V-Day is focusing on women and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Why write about this? First of all, gender based violence is something which lies close to my heart. I volunteer at my local domestic violence shelter, so violence against women is something I think about often (unfortunately). Last night I was reading a book, Family and Friends Guide to Domestic Violence while on my shift, and the author made it very clear that domestic violence is not just a gender issue: it's a human rights issue. That made me pause. Of course it is a human rights issue! To me, it's fairly simple: women are humans too; therefore, violence perpetrated against them in whatever form (beatings, FGM, stonings, etc) is a human rights issue. But do we ever think of domestic violence as a human rights issue? I believe it is framed more as a personal issue due to the private nature of domestic violence. This framing makes outsiders less likely to intervene and more likely for women to feel isolated in her position, not sure which way to turn for help. How is it that we can easily frame the incarceration of prisoners at Guatanamo naval base in Cuba as a human rights issue, but we cannot do the same for a victim of domestic violence who was brutally beaten by her husband, and her son managed to capture the violence on tape? (One would think that the videos were this man's meal ticket to jail: he only was sentenced to nine months) The question with which I am now struggling is how do we change the perception around domestic violence to a human rights issue?

I'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe treating women more like humans is the answer? Again, perhaps the answer lies in a reframing of the issue of domestic violence. Great strides have been made against domestic violence in this country in order to force the issue out of the private sphere and into the public, but more work needs to be done on both the home front and at the international level. In honor of V-Day, reflect on the women around the world who suffer from gender-based violence. Go to the V-Day website and read one article about women in the DRC. Go to the website of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and read an article about violence against women in any country. Take a stand against the massive human rights violations happening every day across the world. This is not a private issue.