Blog : Voice of Suffering

“If we are to end violence against women and girls, we need to create seismic shifts across our social norms.” by Marai Larasi

I selected this specific quote for this blog post for a social issue that I am particularly concerned about both within the U.S. and around the world. Violence against women and girls must be addressed. As Kristof and WuDunn suggest in their book, Half the Sky, when women and the girl child are excluded, we loose half of the contributions of the world population. Are we willing to explore and understand the concept of the suffering of women and girls and be willing to step up with courage to address the issue at the local level, at the state, and national level, as well as, respond responsibly at a global level? What are those seismic shifts that must happen?

This issue may seem overwhelming and you may ask, “is there anything that I can do to address the problem of suffering women that are facing violence within the home or through trafficking or within their society.?” The answer is yes, there are many things that each of us can do. Here are a few ideas that you could explore in your community: 1. Look up the organizations that work with women and children that may have been abused or trafficked; 2. Be aware of the use of humans trafficked in the labor and sexual industries; 3. Work with your local court and/or school to advocate and support children and women that may have suffered abuse; 4. Use your material resources to support organizations that work with human trafficking/domestic violence around the world; 5. Speak up against victimization and sexualized violence; and 6. Volunteer to share your time and expertise by working directly with survivors.

You may think that violence doesn’t happen within your community. I suspect there are few communities that do not struggle with the suffering of women and children that have been exploited at the hands of another. In our small community here in Missouri, there is a safe house for women and children that have escaped the violence. There is a Coalition that meets regularly to address issues of human trafficking and have shared training with the police department to recognize and treat victims. The hospital has a nurse that has specialized in responding to rape. There is an organization that works directly with children of abuse. These are just a few of the many ways our community is addressing the issues.

Mahatma Gandhi said “Poverty is the worst form of violence”. I do believe that education is basic to women and girls expressing their Voice on their own behalf. Education also supports their ability to function in society and to make appropriate decisions that helps them rise above poverty.

Some other national/international opportunities include: The Catholic Church has an organization that works all over the world to address human trafficking - Talitha Kum. This is one of many religious organizations that exist at the national/international level. Care.org is an organization to fight violence against women around the world. WHO - World Health Organization provides data to support the fight against violence toward women. United Nations also provides information and advocacy for women experiencing violence.

There is the National Domestic Violence Helpline that can be accessed to support anyone you know needing assistance. Each state has resources under womenshealth.gov that can be accessed by state to learn about resources for supporting and advocating for women experiencing violence.

Be a courageous Voice for the suffering! The courageous Voice is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” Yes, this is an overwhelming problem in our communities, but if we support/advocate for one women or child, then we have made a difference!