Human Rights Day 2010: Speak Up, Stop Discrimination
I had to write a quick entry recognizing how today, December 10, 2010, is Human Rights Day. What is it exactly? On the UN site it says:
Human Rights Day 2010 on 10 December recognizes the work of human rights defenders worldwide who act to end discrimination.
Acting alone or in groups within their communities, every day human rights defenders work to end discrimination by campaigning for equitable and effective laws, reporting and investigating human rights violations and supporting victims.
While some human rights defenders are internationally renowned, many remain anonymous and undertake their work often at great personal risk to themselves and their families.
Rape has been recognized as a form of discrimination by the US government itself - it is a horrible act of violence that affects survivors for years after the incident. I think it is important to remember that everyone has the simple human right to be treated with dignity. We should be believing and supporting survivors and continuing to campaign for effective policies that will be carried out my competent, knowledgeable people. We should be able to acknowledge when we’ve done wrong and admit it - even when we didn’t intend to hurt others.
So please visit the official Human Rights Day site and remember that violations of human rights don’t just happen in far off developing countries; they happen in this country, in your backyard, on your campus.
Originally published at Tufts University Survivors of Sexual Violence. You can comment here or there.