Happy V Day!

...and that stands for fighting violence against women day, of course.

Here's a few unhealthy facts for you:

- Every two minutes, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted.
- One in six American women are victims of sexual assault, and one in 33 men.
- In 2005-2006, there were an average annual 232,010 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
- About 44% of rape victims are under age 18, and 80% are under age 30.

(stats from RAINN.org)
- 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape.
- The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.
- Following the Supreme Court's decision in 2000 to strike down the civil-rights provision of the Federal Violence Against Women Act (ruling that only states could enact such legislation), only two states in the country (Illinois and California) have defined gender-based violence, such as rape and domestic violence, as sex discrimination, and created specific laws that survivors can use to sue their perpetrators in civil court. (Kaethe Morris Hoffer, 2004).

And now on to the global numbers:
- At least 60 million girls who would otherwise be expected to be alive are "missing" from various populations, mostly in Asia, as a result of sex-selective abortions, infanticide or neglect.
- Globally, at least one in three women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime. (UN Commission on the Status of Women, 2/28/00)
- An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year (UNICEF)
- More than 90 million African women and girls are victims of female circumcision or other forms of genital mutilation.


"Violence against women has profound implications for health but is often ignored. WHO's World Report on Violence and Health notes that "one of the most common forms of violence against women is that performed by a husband or male partner.” This type of violence is frequently invisible since it happens behind closed doors, and effectively, when legal systems and cultural norms do not treat as a crime, but rather as a "private" family matter, or a normal part of life."

-World Health Organization

**And let's not forget that violence against women does not just come in the highly brutal, physical form. It also smacks each of us in the face every morning, when we wake up to find ourselves locked in an abusive relationship with those who (being primarily men) decided women must not have the mental capabilities to control the machinations of their own reproductive lives, and who try to strike down a woman's right to a choice, to birth control, and to freedom from parental or a partner's consent when making choices which will effect our health, bodies, and overall well-being. Disrespect is not just physical abuse -- it is any action that seeks to break you down into bite-able pieces and serve you up to fit other's needs like chocolates in a russell stover box. Instead of reminding people you already love today of a fact they should already know, how about showing some love for those unfortunate people who are shown the opposite daily?


for advocacy in the fight against violence, go here

And despite the putrid pink colors on this website, it's an important cause