break the silence...

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...

the personal is political...

it's been a while since i've heard that 'rallying cry'... it was something we womyn's liberationists used to chant 'way back' in the 70s, so it was quite wonderful to read it in the 'here and now' as the title of vegan feminist agitator's latest blog post "The Personal is Political: Veganism is a Feminist Act"!!! there are some things you read that just resonate, and this is one of those posts, so while i'm procrastinating over writing a new post myself, this one is definitely worth the share (along with her 'rosie the riveter' graphic!)...

"I was born a feminist. I’m not sure where it came from – perhaps my dynamo of a grandmother, confident to the core – but growing up, I never thought that I was anything but a complete equal to everyone else. I was a natural feminist and when I learned that there was a real need for it - that there were those who believed in arbitrary, illogical and repressive hierarchies - the fire within me to correct injustices found its fuel source. When I saw kids throw rocks at squirrels, heard people make bigoted remarks, witnessed others being treated unfairly, my hands would involuntarily ball up into tight little fists. Even if I wanted to keep quiet, to not attract the ire of that bully down the block who threw rocks at the squirrels or the loudmouth at the bar years later, I physically couldn’t do it. It’d be like asking a volcano to please not explode. My feminism and my passion for equality and fairness were always fully interwoven and integrated."  

here i believe though is the time to send you on over to Marla's blog to read her post in its entirety...