16 Days: From Peaceful Homes to a Peaceful World
“From Peaceful Homes to a Peaceful World” is the theme of 16 Days. Take a moment to reflect on where we would be if the vibrant, curious girls of the world had been able to develop and grow as God intended. Imagine the things they could have accomplished had they been spared their suffering. Celebrate the amazing things we have accomplished, despite it all.
As we approach the end of 2014, we once again pause for the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence. Again it seems to be the best of times, the worst of times.
This past year has seen some remarkable progress in the recognition of the pervasiveness of sexual assault in many particular institutional settings.
- The US military has committed resources to addressing sexual assault in the ranks;
- Colleges and universities have been forced by law suits and public opinion to begin to address sexual assault on campus;
- Likewise, the National Football League has finally acknowledged the problem of domestic violence among staff and players and the long standing silencing of victims/survivors. The NFL has taken positive steps to provide training, education and policy changes that can reshape the football culture that has ignored or excused men’s violence towards women for years.
- The Nobel Prize committee recognized Malala Yousafzai with the Nobel Peace Prize. This Pakistani teenager, who was attacked by the Taliban for her outspoken advocacy of education for girls, has become a symbol of gender-based violence. She has also inspired the world through her courageous activism.
16 Days of Activism is an opportunity for us to recognize our progress, set our agenda, and join together with women and men around the world to address the violence that impacts the lives and spirits of women and girls. This time is a reminder to look up from the work that we’re doing every day and recognize that this is a shared struggle. I invite you to look at the photos from around the world of public demonstrations demanding an end to violence against women.
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Afghanistan |
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Nigeria |
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India |
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United States |
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Guatemala |
Along with the real, actual progress that’s happened over the past decades, there is the daily barrage of pain, suffering and damage that we’ve vowed to witness and heal. As a society, we can no longer deny that these issues are real. Or that this violence impacts a third of all women in the world.
So how do we survive in these in-between times? No longer excused by ignorance, how do we magnify our voices to become the critical mass that is required for sustained social and cultural change? During these 16 Days, we invite you to ponder these questions with us, and we invite you to send us your answers.
We offer you the voices of colleagues, prayers and meditations, and educational opportunities. We ask you to engage in what is a world-wide movement for equality, justice and peace.
“From Peaceful Homes to a Peaceful World” is the theme of 16 Days. Take a moment to reflect on where we would be if the vibrant, curious girls of the world had been able to develop and grow as God intended. Imagine the things they could have accomplished had they been spared their suffering. Celebrate the amazing things we have accomplished, despite it all.
In your community, there are people working to end sexual and domestic violence. Join them. Find ways to ensure that your home, your faith community, your schools are safe places.
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Sign the National Declaration by Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence Against Women.
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As a congregation, create a Declaration within your faith community that proclaims your commitment to supporting survivors and preventing violence.
- Urge the United States to ratify the United Nation’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
- Vote for elected officials who are committed to ending discrimination and violence against women. Get involved with public policy decisions that impact the lives of survivors.
- Speak out! Talk about these issues—silence does not create change.
- Check out What Faith Communities Can Do to Respond to Domestic Violence
We will be here every year to grieve, to celebrate, to challenge until sexual and domestic violence become rare and peculiar deviations within our communities. We are counting on you to be here with us.
Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune
www.FaithTrustInstitute.org
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