3 ‘throwback’ op-eds from my #EndGBV resource list
this article mentions sexual violence
happy friday evening beautiful souls,
hope you had a lovely day.
mine has been so-so…i have been experiencing bouts of anxiety lately and they took over part of my day, forcing me to go to bed for the greater part of the afternoon.
i feel a little better and wanted to do a quick recap of the part of the day i was not in bed trying to calm my nerves; and by extension the advocacy season we are in.
i started the day with a virtual speaking engagement organized by do it with boldness foundation. this kenyan based foundation provides a haven for vulnerable children, girls and young mothers; and offers leadership and entrepreneurship skills. every year, the foundation runs a camp dubbed ‘a girl, not a bride’ where they provide trainings on Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) to girls and young women from the maasai community. Upon completion, the girls are supported to become peer educators (PEs) and ambassadors against early marriages and Gender and Sexual Related Violence (GSRVH).
when I was back in Kenya, I participated in a lot of activities and forums like this. most of the engagements were organized by the UN Women Africa Unite Kenya Chapter which steered national events around the elimination of gender based violence (gbv). i have many memorable moments from those days and top of my list is #JusticeforLiz - Liz (not real name) was sexually assaulted by people she knew and went ahead to report them. The police caught them and for their punishment, they were asked to slash grass and given the ok to go home… let me rewind that. they assaulted someone and the punishment they got was slashing grass…i am still blown away thinking about it.
in collaboration with other stakeholders in the space, we set up the #JusticeforLiz campaign, had an online petition up to demand for justice, we also had demonstrations (enjoyed helping with logistics) and other advocacy strategies that eventually saw justice being delivered. (justice should have been delivered without us doing all those things, but that is a story for another day.)
since i moved to the US, i have not been as active in the gbv space, so it was refreshing to get an invitation to speak on the topic. as part of my research, i went into my archives and got some throwback opinion pieces that are still as relevant now as they were when I wrote them; and i think will help anyone exploring the topic or participating in the ongoing 16 days of activism campaign.
For those who have not heard of the campaign, 16 days of activism began in 1991 to mobilize (unite) voices across the globe to speak against gender based violence (gbv); and to share strategies on how to prevent and eliminate this form of violence. the campaign runs for 16days, from November 25th (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10th (International Human Rights Day).
My top three #EndGBV opinion pieces are;
Taking Back Their Power and Their Country - Published on Ms. Magazine (U.S.A)
As this process that began in 2015 drags on, many of the women and girls who survived rape—sometimes in front of their children—and sexual slavery have contracted HIV, been abandoned by their husbands, suffer from depression and suicidal ideations and face stigma in their communities.
How I Am Marking My 14 Years Of Strength (As A Rape Survivor) - Published on HuffPost (U.S.A)
Fourteen years ago, on 15th June in 2003, I was sexually assaulted by someone I knew. Afterward, I did not know what to do and what not to do nor who to talk to about it. Back then, information was not as readily available as it is now thanks to the Internet.
Blaming the victim encourages rapists - Published on The Star (Kenya)
When an institution of higher learning puts out a banner policing how women dress as a measure to prevent gender-based violence, it inherently publicises that it is not a safe place and gives perpetrators a free pass.
if you are in the space or just getting into it, what (re)sources are you using to inform yourself about sexual and gender based violence? i am also curious to know how are you contributing to the prevention and elimination of gender based violence? As you think about those two questions, allow me to share another way i added my voice to the campaign - spoken word piece from back in my poetry days.
sending love and light, sitawa
