Here is an informative page from the United Nations Population Fund about gender-based violence: http://www.unfpa.org/gender/violence.htm.
~
At the beginning
of our discussion, we were presented with three questions:
1) If
you were walking down the street and you saw a woman getting beaten up by two
men, would you speak up?
2) If
you were walking down the street and you saw a woman getting beaten up by two
men, but you knew if you spoke up then you, too, would be beaten, would you
speak up?
3) If
you were walking down the street and you saw a woman getting beaten up by two
men, but you knew if you spoke up then your family would be in danger, would
you speak up?
The majority of
our class was willing to speak up in scenario 1. When personal safety became a
risk in scenario 2, most people said that they would still speak up, but
perhaps look for assistance through another figure to address the issue. When
an entire family became involved with the situation in scenario 3, most people
were less inclined to speak up altogether.
This exercise
reflects the fear that many people feel toward speak out against issues in our world today.
Silence is the unfortunate result of this fear. Most are unwilling to speak out
against sex trafficking, child labor, cutting, and other issues because they
are scared of the repercussions. Understandably, people will not sacrifice
their family’s safety for the slim possibility of positive social change.
This video shows
how people often ignore situations around them because they fear what will happen
if they become involved. In this context, the subject is bullying. In our class
discussions, the subjects are human sex trafficking, prostitution, and rape.
As somebody
pointed out during our discussion, we have been educated to help others; however,
some people lack the education to make the right decisions. It is important to
recognize that, even with education on our side, we often fail to make the
right decisions in practice. Knowledge must be spread in order for it to be
received. For instance, women would benefit from learning about the health
consequences of having unprotected sex before they engage in that risky
activity.
How can we find
a balance between education, morals, and safety while being culturally
sensitive?
~
Chapter 3: Learning to Speak Up, documented
inspiring stories of empowered individuals. These stories showed how single
beings could truly make an impact. Moreover, hearing single cases allowed us,
as an audience, to connect to these stories.
Usha Narayane
organized her town to riot against the corrupt gangster, Akku Yadav. Hindered
by a lack of police intervention, Usha took it upon herself to organize the
murder of the threatening figure.
As a class, we
debated if homicide was justified in this case. We decided that, while we do
not condone murder, the act was more associated with self-defense because the
authorities were not stepping in to protect the locals from the dangerous Akku
Yadav and his gang.
Sunitha Krishnan
is a passionate leader working to fight commercial sex trafficking and empower women. Her story is included below.
In the United
States, Zach Hunter founded Loose Change to Loosen Chains (LC2LC), an
organization that works to fight modern slavery.
~
At the beginning
of Chapter 3, women are described as docile and submissive. As a class, we were
asked if we believe that women in the United States today follow this
stereotype.
At first, we
said no. Women in America are more progressive than in most parts of the world;
however, there are certainly more progressions that must take place before we
declare equality between the genders. First of all, it was mentioned that we
have never had a female president, inequality exists in the workforce, and some
legislation appears to be gender-biased. We also talked about how women and men
have different physical makeups; this reality is often associated with the
discrimination that women and men face. For instance, women may be looked down
upon for lifting weights in the gym and men may be ridiculed for styling their
hair in a certain way.
In addition,
there are gender-specific personality traits that relate to how an individual
is perceived by others. Gradually, in the U.S., most of these distinguishable
characteristics are becoming more gender neutral. In some cases, however, factors
such as culture and religion influence “gender roles.”
Somebody brought
up the idea of an extreme version of feminism, where advocates are deemed “feminazis.”
These individuals are women’s rights activists who want all resources to be
allocated toward women, rather than both genders equally. This led us to look
up the definition of feminism, since it is often portrayed as a somewhat
negative word. Feminism is defined as
“the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and
economic equality to men” (New Oxford American Dictionary). So it is about
equality, not overpowering.
“I
do not wish them [women] to have power over men, but over themselves.” --Mary
Wollstonecraft
~
We watched a TED
Talk video, where Sunitha Krishnan spoke about the terrors of sex slavery. She
explained how children as young as three, four, or five years old are sold into
commercial sexual exploitation. She also addressed the issues of prostitution,
disease, and rape.
Sunitha herself
was gang raped by eight men at the age of fifteen. She described how the anger
has stuck with her because, as a result of their actions, she was ostracized,
isolated, and treated like a shameful victim.
She went on to
explain how our society treats the targets of rapes as the victims of rapes.
Women are often disregarded, punished, beaten, or killed for being targets.
Moreover, they are seen as less than human, and all of this is entirely out of
their control.
Sunitha has
rescued over 3,200 girls from ages three to forty years old. She points out
that silence kills. If we do not speak up, we are letting people get away with
crimes. Women involved often suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, drug
addictions, or substance abuse because they see no potential from their deemed
“ruined” state of being as a raped or mistreated individual.
Sunitha admitted
that her initial thought when helping women was “where do I begin?” Sometimes,
it seems like one person cannot make a meaningful difference, but individuals
such as Sunitha have proved this mentality wrong. She explains how
understanding her personal pain was her best teacher. Now, Sunitha gives women
the resources and power to work in carpentry, welding, construction, and other
fields. She gives them an alternative to selling themselves. She notes that confidence and dignity are crucial components to
building strong, capable women.
One of the most
meaningful portions of the video was Sunitha’s request for acceptance. She
urges the public to have open minds and open hearts because women who have been
raped want compassion. They want to belong and they deserve to belong. As a
voice for all survivors of human trafficking, Sunitha presents a powerful and
humble plead for change in the way we treat women.
Our class felt that
the video’s graphic images worked to show the realities associated with
trafficking and the severe consequences of silence. Sunitha talks in a way that
makes the audience feel like they “own the cause” and are within reach of
changing the current situation. She states: “I don’t want to hear 100 ways you
can’t do something; I want to hear 1 way you can.” She highlights that passivity
itself is a form of corruption. She stresses that she is not a victim, and it
is displayed through her passion and humility as she speaks. Sunitha’s story,
which includes the extension of thousands of other girls’ stories, works to
establish a level of connection. As an audience, we respond because she is one
person, not a meaningless statistic. She breaks the barrier of a numerical
figure attached to sex trafficking because she is one example, who happens to
be latched to many other examples; each story is a painful reminder of the
brutality we allow to occur. She kindly asks for our cooperation in ending this
hostility, and we are more than willing to oblige.
~
In the last
portion of our discussion, we talked about ways that we could get involved with
helping empower women globally. We discussed the following organizations:
-Kiva is a program where volunteers fund
microfinance loan projects abroad.
-Women for Women International provides
support for female survivors of war.
-Three Cups of Tea works to promote
girls’ education, literacy, and peace.
-Tinogona inspires universal access to
quality education. It is Davis Rotaract’s current project.
