Today is Valentine’s Day, a day to embrace love over hate, non-violence over death and destruction, peace over war.
Many groups that embrace an ethic of peace and social justice focus some of their creative energy and dedication to Valentine’s Day messages, and these are particularly appropriate during the Season of Nonviolence.
The V-Day movement, an international effort to end violence against women, began in 1998 with one event and this year involves more than 1500 events in at least 140 countries. Working with other organizations dedicated to non-violent social change, they are the sponsors of One Billion Rising.
One Billion Rising is urging “ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to violence against women” today and every day.
United to End Genocide plans to deliver a valentine to the National Rifle Association (NRA) saying, “Have a heart: Don’t Kill the Arms Trade Treaty.” My name will be on that valentine. How about yours? You can learn more about United to End Genocide by watching this video.
United to End Genocide is joined in this Valentine’s Day Plan by the Win Without War Coalition, which includes groups such as the American Friends Service Committee, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Council for a Livable World, Greenpeace, the NAACP, NOW, and Psychologists for Social Responsibility.
The Women’s Human Rights Program of Amnesty International USA plans to deliver a Valentine’s Day message to Congress, reminding them that all women deserve to live a life free from violence. So do all men.
Enjoy the day, spread love, and find a way to join the singing and dancing of the One Billion Rising movement.
Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology
I enjoyed reading your post about Valentine’s Day and learning about the different groups your featured. Do you think the Win Without War coalition could make a difference with the Hamas and Israel conflict?
Yes, I personally believe that the larger the number of respected groups that work together for peace, the greater the likelihood of peace. People tend to forget that through the centuries, hundreds if not thousands of conflicts have been resolved and stayed resolved.
I have been reading “A Man of Parts” a fictionalized biography of H. G. Wells by David Lodge. He wrote several books pertaining to war, one of them predicting the invention of a weapon that could destroy cities and lead to world-wide devastation. He proposed the concept of countries forming and alliance dedicated to the prevention of war. He lived through two world wars, witnessing the collapse of his utopian dreams for mankind. From the book’s jacket blurb: H. G. Wells was one of the twentieth century’s most prophetic and creative writers.
I really enjoyed reading this and I could not agree more with the topic. Ending violence against women is something that needs a voice. This is something that varies within different cultures. Some cultures view this as socially acceptable behavior. Some, even within our own country, believe that violence and abuse against women is acceptable. Do you think it is possible to change the social view on this matter regardless of the culture?
Thanks for your comment, Chris. Yes, I think there has been considerable progress toward gender equality around the world, despite the fact that people who have power are generally reluctant to give any of it away to others. The United Nations has a number of programs for promoting gender equality around the world with sensitivity to and knowledge of cultural issues. You might find it interesting to look at the 2012 year in review for gender equality: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/timeline/2012-year-in-review.html
Men and women alike deserve to live free from violence and discrimination, but one group of maltreated people that society often forgets to acknowledge are the disabled. People with disabilities of all ages face discrimination and violence, a reality that we need to challenge and put an end to.
Child Protection Services confirmed that child maltreatment of children with disabilities exceeds the proportion of children with disabilities in the population. In addition, the Abuse Referral Clinic for Children with Disabilities reported that 31%of children with disabilities experience maltreatment. Disabilities also put children at twice the risk of being bullied by their peers. How can we turn a blind eye to such these high instances of victimizations?
Older adults with disabilities face similar cases of violence against them. Women with disabilities are reported to experience the major forms of maltreatment at about twice the rate of women without disabilities. Although there is limited research on the maltreatment of men, there are a few studies that indicate their rates of maltreatment are nearly equivalent with those of females. Abuse against disabled elders also exists, especially for elders who suffer from dementia, which increases their likelihood of being abused to 50%.
Why do such prevailing rates of maltreatment of the disabled exist? The disabled do not live up to societal images of independent and well-functioning people, and in addition tend to be more isolated, which increases their susceptibility to continued violence. In order to help the disabled escape such prejudices, we need to acknowledge their disability as something that needs to be addressed and helped, rather than something to be condemned. With more social support and resources available to the disabled, they may be able to escape the victimizations they are prone to.
I am glad that this post specifically points out that all men should be able to live violence-free lives. Only within the last few decades have Americans begun to recognize and discuss the issue of violence against males by their female partners. Though still under researched, mental health providers acknowledge that men can be victims of physical, psychological and possibly sexual abuse by female partners. Unfortunately many people do not believe any of these instances occur, the most common reason being that men should be able to overpower women in a violent situation. While it is true that women may not be able to inflict the same level physical harm on men with their own bodies, men may be more likely than women to be assaulted with a weapon in a situation of intimate partner violence.
Although research supports the existence of females abusing male partners, not enough people working in law enforcement and government share that view. The majority of abused men encounter police and prosecutors who are unwilling to arrest women for domestic violence. Many report feeling embarrassed and humiliated by the authorities when reporting their abuse. To add further insult to injury, there are almost no outside resources available to male victims. They rarely have any place to go if they choose to leave their abusive partners and many of them do not leave at all.