Living without fear

(ES)

All who have experienced violence probably will have, at least, one desire: to relive without fear. The human ability to overcome the traumatic effect of excessive violence is known as resilience.

There is, however, a form of violence that the sufferer does not even have the ability to remember a before and after to let him or her be able to address life in a different manner. A kind of violence that deprives of freedom, in which the individual becomes an object that passes from one owner to another without any ability to control their fate nor the one of their descendants. One form of violence that prevents to those who suffer it to exercise their most basic rights, among them, that of education. A kind of violence that imposes walls with solid foundations rooted in the community, perhaps the most difficult walls to demolish, even more taking into account that customs only change with education, and in some countries is a privilege rather than a right.

So far, it might seem that I'm talking about slavery, and no, I'm describing a form of violence as old as slavery itself. I mean to gender-based violence and all forms of discrimination against women especially.

In today's society there is a common denominator, in the most civilized and in the less developed, that the woman is the basis of the family and of productive network. Probably why, and over many centuries, this is the reason that women are discriminated against and exercised violence against them both in peacetime and in times of conflict, whether humanitarian or war. In peacetime, discrimination and violence allow men to maintain the status quo generally accepted in society, although this is changing gradually. How many centuries will it take to eradicate it? In times of conflict, attacking women becomes one more means of controlling the civilian population, since this is done to destroy the basis of the family and of productive network in which a community is sustained.

We can not tolerate violence or discrimination against women.

Say NO UNITE to end violence against women

Let's demand to our governments more budget to eradicate gender violence and to struggle against women discrimination, increased presence of women in institutions and government bodies, access to education on equal terms, legislation amending or repealing laws that are clearly discriminatory against women, and thus, a set of measures as stated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ratified by more than 185 countries.

It is not just a document, is the life of millions of women and girls worldwide.
 

Tragically, up to three quarters of women and girls worldwide experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. And the effect on the millions of girls and women who are abused is devastating — not just on them personally, but also on their ability to fully participate in the development of their countries. Unless violence against women is curbed, meeting all of the eight Millennium Development Goals will be impossible.


(Publisher: UNTV with support from UNIFEM; Date of Release: September 2010; Available in: English, French, Spanish and Russian)




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