16 Days… again.

Today starts the 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women.

[Fast background: The 16 Days starts on 25 November, the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women, and ends on 10 December, International Human Rights Day. No – we don’t just squeeze our action into 16 days – we do this every.damn.day. The point is to raise awareness of totally unacceptable/absolutely bullshit/infuriating/violating effect that violence against women has – and to poke everyone into action. Because, dude, this has to be an EVERY day thing – individual and collective – if we’re going to have a ONE day when this crap is done. Eliminate. Exterminate. Herein ends the background.]

So, yes, our goal is to actually STOP having these campaigns – to succeed in ending male violence against women. And male violence overall – not a bad bonus. Face it – most violence against women is perpetrated by men. And most violence against men is perpetrated by men. Patterns, anyone?! [Bueller? Bueller?!]

I want to imagine a future where I’m sitting around with my peeps, recalling our 16-days campaigns as a memory.

This would presumably be followed by: Can you imagine such a shitty world actually existed?! 

And then followed by: Thankfully, we fixed it! 

There is undoubtedly Prosecco as well as something chocolately that is easy to chew, given the likely state of our teeth at this point.

Anyway, one of the bazillion articles on this issue raises an interesting point:

If the majority of victims of male violence are men, why is there no male-led political movement for the dismantling of male violence? Why is this analysis a feminist project alone? 

Cuz, like, this feminist is fed up.

The article goes on – read it. But the bottom line (literally) is this:

The end of violence against women means the liberation of females from our subordination to males. It means men giving up power in exchange for a less brutal world.

Kinda cool if we could achieve this while I still have my real teeth in.

Sooooo… for today, and for the next 16 days, and probably the next 16 years, and the previous 16 years (and more!), here’s what I say:

I refuse to accept a world where violence against women exists – and will do everything in my power to build a world where women and girls are safe.

Happy 16 Days… again.

#Feminism #16Days #InternationalDaytoEliminateViolenceAgainstWomen #VAW #GBV