Violence devastates the lives of millions of women and girls worldwide every year (Photo Credit: Mahmud Khaled/AFP/Getty Images)
There’s little doubt that you’ve repeatedly heard about the incessant global epidemic of violence against women and girls; I am certain you’ve seen one too many horrific headlines highlighting unthinkable instances of gender-based violence around the world.
Like me, you’re also undoubtedly distressed by the violence and simultaneously weary of the struggle to end it. It is overwhelming and daunting to grasp how we can work to effectively end this widespread human rights abuse.
But we cannot give up on our efforts. With every day that passes, violence continues to devastate the lives of countless more women and girls in every part of the world. We must continue to push for a solution. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
President Obama, , joined by Vice Chairwoman of the Tulalip Tribes of Washington State Deborah Parker, trafficking survivor Tysheena Rhames, Police Chief James Johnson of Baltimore County in Maryland, and Executive Director of New York City Anti-Violence Project Police Department Sharon Stapel, and members of Congress and his adminstration, signs the Violence Against Women Act into law March 7, 2013. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
This blog is part of a series on human rights in the State of the Union address. The United States has an obligation to pursue policies that ensure respect for human rights at home and around the world. Follow along and join the conversation using #SOTUrights.
Dear Mr. President,
This State of the Union, will you make women’s rights a priority?
Women across the world—including here in the U.S.—experience horrific levels of violence. 1 of 3 women globally will be raped, beaten, or otherwise abused in their lifetime, and you, Mr. President, can help end this epidemic.
Violence is horrific wherever it occurs and in whatever context. It is particularly abhorrent in the devastating impact it has on the lives of 1 in 3 women around the world. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST
We did it! The groundbreaking Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was just passed by the House of Representatives and will now be sent to President Obama for his signature!
It’s been a long road to victory. I wrote earlier this year about the indefensible demise of VAWA in the last Congress. The last Congress missed a momentous opportunity to stand up for the safety of all women. So women – and men – stood up for themselves; on February 14, 2013, Amnesty International joined the One Billion Rising movement to stand up, walk out, and dance to end violence against women globally. We called for Congress to quit the partisan politics and finally pass a Violence Against Women Act that included ALL communities.
Since then, we have seen the new Congress introduce and pass VAWA in the Senate and now the House has followed suit.
I was in Delhi on December 17 when tens of thousands marched in solidarity to support a young victim of rape.
On the evening of December 16, this young woman and her friend boarded a bus to return home after watching a movie. Her friend was attacked, while she was assaulted and raped by five men on the bus. Both were then left to die on the side of a busy street. Her injuries were so severe, that she succumbed to them a few weeks later.
The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) (S.2982) just passed in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee! The IVAWA is the first comprehensive piece of legislation in the United States aimed at ending violence against women and girls around the world – it would support innovative programs to help victims, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent violence.
This is a HUGE and long awaited step forward to passing this landmark piece of legislation that will help to prevent and respond to violence against women globally. Many thanks to all of our incredible activists and supporters who have taken action to help pass IVAWA – we would not have gotten this far without your dedication and activism. Your calls, letters, emails and faxes to your members of Congress have been critical to educating our elected representatives about this important issue and crucial to shoring up their support (and their votes!) for IVAWA!
Earlier this morning, Chad Stokes – lead singer of State Radio and co-founder of women’s empowerment organization Calling All Crows – stopped by the Amnesty DC office along with co-founder and Chairwoman Sybil Gallagher and Co-Executive Director Matt, for a quick visit as they prepped for a sold-out acoustic set tonight in Vienna, VA.
Calling All Crows and State Radio has been working closely with AIUSA to support and pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) in Congress this year. On their recent tour, State Radio and Calling All Crows has been highlighting IVAWA and the impact that passage of such a monumental bill would have in places such as the DRC where mass rapes were reported earlier this year, by calling on fans to reach out to their members of Congress in support of IVAWA!
CRANK IT UP – check out State Radio’s inspiring song and video “Calling All Crows” below. And to find out more about State Radio’s tour and the incredible activism that State Radio is engaged in, check out their website here.
As many of you already know, IVAWA creates a comprehensive, integrated approach to preventing and responding to violence and places women at the center of U.S. foreign policy. It has the potential to reform social attitudes and address the underlying human rights abuses that leave women exposed to violence. AIUSA has been working hard with our coalition partners, our incredible grassroots, grasstops and of course State Radio and Calling All Crows, to pass IVAWA now! Your activism and support has and continues to be critical to passing IVAWA –so keep it up and TAKE ACTION NOW by:
There’s just a few weeks remaining of 2010 and even fewer remaining of the 111th United States Congress. Time is running out to pass critical legislation. This week Congress has the chance to take action to move the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), a Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote is scheduled to take place on Thursday, December 2nd.
Many of you have taken action in support of IVAWA, made phone calls, written letters and sent letters to the newspaper. During the 16 days of activism against gender based violence which began on November 25th don’t forget the other effective way of letting Congress know that you oppose the abuse of women and girls worldwide and you that you want the United States Government to use the opportunity to take action. Join the pass IVAWA tweet-a-thon! On November 30th, the IVAWA coalition is calling on activists across the country to tweet messages of support for IVAWA and calls for action. If enough people tweet about IVAWA we can really draw attention to the bill, generate more calls and activism and potentially make this a trending topic on Twitter.
Some sample tweets are:
Not one more woman, not one more rape. http://bit.ly/ezlk8T #IVAWA
Call your member of Congress NOW @202-224-3121 & say pass #IVAWA (S2982/H.R.4594)!
Help end violence against women globally! http://bit.ly/ezlk8T #IVAWA
Or make up your own tweet, just don’t forget to include the #IVAWA so we can make this an important trending topic for the day.
If you are a really dedicated social media activist check out the IVAWA activist toolkit for other campaigning tactics. Also don’t forget to make a call and urge your member of Congress to pass IVAWA as well. See how its done on this fun “how to” video:
Act now, there’s no time to delay in the struggle to stop the violent abuse of women and girls globally.
Right now, we have the best chance we have ever had of passing the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Our elected officials need to hear that their constituents believe ending the abuse of women around the world is a priority for the United States.
In just three easy steps, you can make a quick call to your Representative and Senators to ask them to help pass IVAWA. Watch this instructional video from Laura, Katie, and Christina to find out the fun and fast way to call your elected representatives:
After watching this video you’ll realize it doesn’t take a celebrity to make a difference in the legislative process, it just takes one call from you, a constituent, to let members of Congress know you think the United States has an important role to play in stopping violence against women internationally!
Step 1: Visit Congress.org to find your Representative and Senators by entering your zip code. Then call the Congressional switchboard to ask to be connected to your Congressional represenatives: 202-224-3121.
Step 2: Identify yourself as a constituent and give your name. Ask the office whether the Congressman/woman supports H.R. 4594/S. 2982 the International Violence Against Women Act.
Step 3: If your Congressman/woman is a cosponsor, thank them and ask them to please vote YES when it comes to the House/Senate floor. If they are not a cosponsor, urge them to be one and vote Yes for IVAWA!
With the help of these three steps and this video from Amnesty, it’s easy to make the call to your members of Congress and urge them to pass IVAWA now!
And, if you have more than 1 minute to spare for IVAWA, check out the IVAWA fall 2010 activist toolkit that is packed full of great activist resources.
Amnesty International and partner organizations are taking part in the 31 Days of Action campaign during the month of July to shore up support in Congress for the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA).
Violence against women and girls represents a global health, economic development, and human rights problem. At least one out of every three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with rates of domestic violence reaching 70% in some countries.
The United States has a valuable opportunity to raise the issue of women’s rights in its diplomatic work. Finally, we can work together to end the suffering of millions of women and girls.
Please join us this month as we urge members of Congress to support IVAWA. We’ll be asking our supporters to send targeted messages throughout the month to key legislators via Facebook and Twitter (@amnesty) so please follow us there for details!
