Excuses, excuses...Now act!

I've been meaning to write an entry for many a day now. But I always have an excuse. I'm tired. I don't know what to write about. I have too much to write about. No one will care what I write....

But at some point we have to set aside excuses and act.

Laurie has pushed me, and now we're going to act. Back in October Stephanie Nolen of The Globe and Mail wrote an article which I sent to Laurie. The article is no longer available in its entirety online, but you can get the intro here and purchase the full article. Laurie, the wonderful soul that she is, couldn't sleep for days because the idea that the word "re-rape" existed just messed with her mind too much. Not that it didn't bother me to read those words too...but I was able to push it away. Not Laurie. So she emailed me. "Laura, I've got an idea. But I need your help." I didn't know it at the time, but I had just signed up to co-produce V-Day in the Capital.

No more excuses. It's time to act.

Too many women in the DRC are being violated repeatedly as an act of war. In an article by Kris Kotarski for The Calgary Herald, Maj.-Gen. Patrick Cammaert, who was the commander for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Eastern Congo is quoted referring to the mass rapes saying that:

It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in armed conflict.

Closer to home, a 2006 Statistics Canada study, called Measuring Violence against Women, found:

Prevalence and severity

• Women are more likely than men to be the victims of the most severe forms of spousal assault, as well as spousal

homicide, sexual assault and criminal harassment (stalking).

• The rate of spousal homicide has declined in recent years for both women and men, and survey data suggest that the

severity of non-lethal assaults against women has also declined somewhat.

• Over the past 30 years, the percentage of persons charged with fi rst degree murder in spousal homicide cases has

risen; however, men are twice as likely as women to receive this charge.

• Trends in various types of violence against women, as recorded in police statistics, are mixed:

• rates of reported sexual assault have declined since 1993;

• the number of spousal violence incidents against women has declined since 2000 while the rate of

violence perpetrated by boyfriends has increased;

• the number of male partners reported to police for criminal harassment has increased.

Impact

• Spousal violence has psychological, physical, social and economic impacts for victims, their families and society.

• Female victims of spousal violence are more likely than males to report being injured, suffer lost productivity, experience

multiple assaults, fear for their lives, and experience negative emotional consequences.

• Almost 40% of women assaulted by spouses said their children witnessed the violence against them (either directly or

indirectly) and in many cases the violence was severe. In half of cases of spousal violence against women that were

witnessed by children, the woman feared for her life.

• Studies of the economic costs of violence against women to victims and society estimate that costs to health, criminal

justice, social services and lost productivity range in the billions of dollars.

Some more (and fairly recently updated) statistics can also be found here thanks to The Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women.

But, I could spout numbers and percentages until I was blue in the face and that perhaps wouldn't get most to understand the absolute importance and prevalence of this problem.

So why not come hear a story of someone who's actually experienced it? Why not hear from someone who saw their own mother beaten? Or someone who grew up surrounded by broken women? Someone who is raising their son to Not Be One of Them.

That is where V-Day in the Capial comes in. 

Here is our first post from our blog/website:

And so it begins....

We are very pleased to announce that as part of the annual V-Day campaign, we will be staging a benefit reading of A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, on April 25th, 2009 at the Theatre of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer: Writings To Stop Violence Against Women and Girls, is a groundbreaking collection of monologues by world-renowned authors and playwrights, edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle. These diverse voices, of both men and women, rise up in a collective roar to break open, expose, and examine the insidiousness of violence at all levels: brutality, neglect, a punch, even a put-down.

What is V-Day?

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.

The V-Day movement is growing at a rapid pace throughout the world, in 120 countries from Europe to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and all of North America. V-Day, a non-profit corporation, distributes funds to grassroots, national and international organizations and programs that work to stop violence against women and girls. In 2001, V-Day was named one of Worth Magazine's "100 Best Charities" and in 2006 one of Marie Claire Magazine's Top Ten Charities. In ten years, the V-Day movement has raised over $60 million.

2009 Spotlight Campaign

Along with supporting local programs of education and prevention about violence against women, 2009 is also shining the spotlight on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Stop Raping our Greatest Resource: Power to Women in the DRC is a new global campaign to call attention to the wide-scale atrocities committed against women and girls in Eastern DRC and demand an end to the impunity with which these crimes are committed.

By joining this campaign, you will be supporting Congolese women and men who are demanding an end to rape. You will be supporting local efforts to demand justice and accountability. You will be supporting survivors of sexual violence to heal and rebuild their lives and communities. And you will join others around the globe to demand that women and girls in DRC are safe.

The Campaign is being initiated by V-Day and UNICEF, representing UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict

What's Next?

In the coming weeks we will be announcing our performers, where you can buy tickets and who will benefit from the money raised.

Questions? Drop us a line at capitalvday@gmail.com

I do hope you'll join us and take the time to act.