One Billion Rising: Speak out about violence against Women

MadPea is very proud and excited to be a sponsor for One Billion Rising. One Billion Rising is a organization dedicated to bring awareness about violence against women around the world. One in three women will be abused, raped or beaten in the world. With the population of women being around seven billion and rising this adds up to one billion women and girls experiencing violence brought against them. These are numbers that we should not live with and One Billion Rising wants to bring awareness to this and make the number smaller. 

On February 14, 2013, for 24 hours starting at midnight Pacific Standard Time, Second Life residents will join with activists around the world in a spectacular 24-hour dance event for ONE BILLION RISING, the largest day of action in the history of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls. Men and women in Second Life will join activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and people across the world to Walk, Dance, and Rise as a show of unity, individual strength, and the need for change.

The Second Life event will feature a four-region stage where 200 people can dance together, surrounded by an area of art installations and informational exhibits. A variety of performers will play over the 24-hour period, enabling people all over the world to attend this virtual event no matter their time zone. The regions will have a General maturity rating to allow all residents an opportunity to participate. Pictures are welcome on the event's Flickr group.

The objective of the event is to raise awareness, not to raise funds; however, information about real-world organizations’ will be available for those wishing to donate.

Forms of abuse against violence include; rape, incest, beatings, mutilation, verbal, mental, emotional, human trafficking and stalking.  Sometimes, women are attacked by strangers, but most often they are hurt by people who are close to them, such as a husband or partner. Whether you are attacked by a stranger or mistreated by a partner, violence and abuse can have terrible effects.

One form of violence against women is Female Genital Cutting (FGC). FGC and female circumcision is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons." FGC is also known as Holiday cutting. We have heard this happening in Africa mostly. In Africa 56% of women are subject to FGC. Africa is not the only place that FGC or holiday cutting happens. 500,000 is the estimated number of girls and women are living with FGC in Europe alone. 180,000 girls are at risk of being subjected to FGC in Europe. 

Sweden was the first non-practicing state to officially ban FGC. In the US alone 227,887 have been at risk in 2000. Women all over the world in many countries are at risk of being subjected to FGC and holiday cutting.  The numbers are large. But many countries have taken big leaps in banning it and offering Asylum to women and girls who have suffered form or at risk of being FGC victims. 

            Another form of abuse, and it may be the biggest of all, is emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is hard to prove sometimes. It is one of the least reported forms of abuse next to rape. Emotional abuse can leave you feeling like you have been beaten, but you were never touched.  You may be experiencing emotional abuse if someone:

• Monitors what you're doing all the time
• Unfairly accuses you of being unfaithful all the time
• Prevents or discourages you from seeing friends or family
• Tries to stop you from going to work or school
• Gets angry in a way that is frightening to you
• Controls how you spend your money
• Humiliates you in front of others
• Threatens to hurt you or people you care about
• Threatens to harm himself or herself when upset with you
• Says things like, "If I can't have you then no one can."
• Decides things for you that you should decide (like what to wear or eat)

If these things are being done to you, you should seek help to find out for sure and what to do.

Sexual assault and abuse happen way more often than any of us know. This type of violence goes unreported because the victim feels ashamed or at blame for what happened. Rape is sex you don't agree to, including forcing a body part or an object into your vagina, rectum (bottom), or mouth.

Sexual assault or abuse is any type of sexual activity that a person does not agree to, including:

• Rape or attempted rape
• Touching your body or making you touch someone else's
• Incest or sexual contact with a child
• Someone watching or photographing you in sexual situations
• Someone exposing his or her body to you

Sometimes, sexual violence is committed by a stranger. Most often, though, it is committed by someone you know, including a date or an intimate partner like a husband, ex-husband, or boyfriend. Sexual violence is always wrong, and a person who is sexually abused does not ever "cause" the attack.

Keep in mind that there are times when a person is not able to agree to sex, such as if they are drunk or have been drugged with a date rape drug, or if they are underage.

Women who are sexually abused may suffer serious health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections, stomach problems, and ongoing pain. They also are at risk for emotional problems, like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Statistics for rape are as follows: Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:¹

• All women: 17.6%
• White women: 17.7%
• Black women: 18.8%
• Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
• American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
• Mixed race women: 24.4%

Children

15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.

• 29% are age 12-17.
• 44% are under age 18.³
• 80% are under age 30.³
• 12-34 are the highest risk years.
• Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.

7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

• In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse. Of these, 75% were girls.
• Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.

• 34.2% of attackers were family members.
• 58.7% were acquaintances.
• Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

There are many groups and organizations dedicated to helping women and girls who have been subjected to any form of abuse. These organizations are worldwide. Below is links to some of the organizations websites for you to visit and learn more about violence against women and how you can help spread the word.

As you can see the numbers are large and change every day. But together we can make the numbers lower. Let’s work together to raise awareness and make it known that women are strong and violence will not win us over in the end. Make a voice for those that have been subjected to rape, abuse and other horrific violent acts. Speak for those women who had been murdered. Help those speak that are afraid to speak. Speak for ourselves. Let us be heard all around the world. Stand up and speak out against violence against women.

http://onebillionrisingsl.wordpress.com/

http://www.onebillionrising.org/pages/about-one-billion-rising

http://www.mavaw.org/ 

http://www.menstoppingviolence.org/
http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/about.shtml
http://aaci.org/
http://www.actionaid.org/india
http://www.afghanwomensmission.org/
http://www.bridgesnh.org/
http://buyartnotpeople.org/
https://camfed.org/where-we-work/zimbabwe/
http://www.deaf-hope.org/about/
http://www.rainn.org/

http://www.womenscentertc.org/

http://www.victimsupport.org.uk/
http://www.dofeve.org/
http://www.feminist.org/welcome/index.html
http://gord.hr/wp/o-nama/
http://www.hruth.org/default.asp
http://www.inhuredinternational.org/
 http://www.turkey.iom.int/
http://narika.org/
http://www.piler.org.pk/
http://www.raksha.org/

http://www.wluml.org/node/5408

http://www.zcenter.org/index.htm