"I am over how long it seems to take anyone to ever respond to rape.
I am over Facebook taking weeks to take down rape pages.
I am over the hundreds of thousands of women in Congo still waiting for the rapes to end and the rapists to be held accountable.
I am over the thousands of women in Bosnia, Burma, Pakistan, South Africa, Guatemala, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Afghanistan, Libya, you name a place, still waiting for justice.
I am over rape happening in broad daylight."
This comes from activist and playwright Eve Enslers’ poem ‘Over it’, written for the One Billion Rising event that will take place on the 14th of February. Women all around the world will rise up and dance to call an end to violence against women, and everyone can join.
Rates of women experiencing physical violence at least once in their lifetime vary from several per cent to over 59 per cent depending on where they live, according to the UN. The One Billion Rising campaign adresses this violence and is organised by V-day, a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. V-day will have its 15th anniversary on Valentines Day when the One Billion Rising will take place. It will be a global flash mob to rise up for women’s rights. Thousands of events and dances have been planned all over the world.
The V in V-day stands for Victory, Vagina and Valentine and has its origins in the play the Vagina Monologues, written by Eve Ensler and first performed in New York City in 1994. The play was based on dozens of interviews conducted with women, and it addresses women’s sexuality, the social stigma surrounding rape and abuse and creating a new conversation about and with women. After the success of the Vagina Monologues, the V-day movement is now active 167 countries.
Although raising awareness for rape and violence, One Billion Rising will be an act of hope and positivity, where womanhood is celebrated and taken pride in. You can join existing initiatives in your own city or town, or start your own event. And yes, men are also welcome.
Sophie Bloemen
Photo: flickr.com/vdrg
