[Day 6] Sexual Assault
One hundred and sixty one years ago, a group of women and men drafted the Declaration of Sentiments, stating that "The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman..." Their immediate goal of equal voting rights for women in the United States has long since been met, but this statement still rings with a tragic amount of truth.
Three years ago, when rageprufrock first began the project that would grow into 14 valentines, she spoke about how women are praised and worshiped, torn down and degraded. We live in a world where our bodies are revered for the ability to give life and derided for leaving behind the appearance of adolescence, where we can rise to the highest offices of power in some countries and are deprived of basic rights in others.
We are told to be strong, to stand up for ourselves, told that we can do anything, be anything - but only to a point, always to a point.
Around the world, women die from lack of basic medical attention, from infanticide, from starvation beyond their control, from starvation inflicted upon themselves in a twisted attempt to be beautiful. We are beaten, raped, murdered, told in so many horrifying ways that we are lesser that we don't matter.
Forty years ago we declared that Sisterhood is Powerful, and it still is. We must remember that, must continue moving forward.
It's 2009 and we've come so far, but there is still more work to be done. We deserve better, and we can do more. We're strong. The next fourteen days is meant to remind us of that. It's our time to take back our bodies.
V can stand for vagina, like Eve Ensler's groundbreaking monologues. V can stand for violence, under whose auspices all women continue to make a home.
V can also stand for victory.
Sexual Assault
Every two minutes someone is sexually assaulted in the U.S., and one out of every six American women have been sexually abused.
These are the rape statistics in the U.S. alone, where an estimated 60% of rapes are never reported. Sexual assault has been used as a tool of genocide, domination, and oppression. For women around the world, sexual assault is a threat and an ever present fear.
The statistics can tell you it's a problem. It happens in the U.S., in France and the Middle East, in Australia and Africa. It happens in nearly every society in the world.
What people rarely talk about is the fact that people who've been raped or sexually abused are more likely to do drugs, drink alcohol excessively, and consider suicide. Rape brings up feelings of shame, disgust, and fear in the survivors. For all the trauma women face as a result of rape, it is not something we, as a society, discuss, and many women don't know what to do when it happens.
In cases like these, a place like the National Sexual Assault Hotline is particularly important. It offers counseling, information on community resources, and information on emergency protocols. Since the hotline connects the caller to a local branch, the counselors can also explain the legal aspects of the crime, and are familiar with the area and the local support groups available.
[Today's essay courtesy of vylit]