the united nations declaration on the elimination of violence against womyn states “the term violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”.
according
to the australian government statistics “One in three Australian women have
experienced physical violence since the age of 15. Almost one in five have
experienced sexual violence. It is time for that to change.”
it’s time for our brothers to stand up and say no more – to shout
enough is enough – violence against our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters,
friends is not acceptable… it’s time to show outrage… it’s time to say ‘that
violence deserves punishment’ – it’s time to stop turning a blind eye…
it’s time to stand up and say you
are not a believer in men’s domination of womyn, you are not a
believer in men’s right to control, brutalize, violate, ridicule or belittle womyn…
on this white ribbon day you can take a stand by something as simple as acknowledging out loud - in the workplace, at home, in the pub, anywhere, everywhere - that ‘that comment isn’t acceptable’, ‘that joke isn’t funny’, ‘that
view is misogynistic’, ‘that behaviour is intolerable’…
it’s time to break the silence that allows violence to
continue and flourish... it's time to swear the oath...
