What should we do to end violence against women?

Over the past thirty-five years, women have focused much effort on the problem of violence against women and made great progress. Women have started talking about their experiences, built rape crisis centers and shelters, advocated for changes in laws, been joined in their efforts by men, become recognized as part of the international public health and human rights movements, and influenced other survivor movements, such as the one working on abuse by the clergy. There is still much to be done. You need to:

• Speak out against the messages in our society that glorify and encourage violence, domination, and exploitation
• Teach and model nonviolence
• Intervene whenever you see the seeds or expression of violence against women, realizing that your silence helps perpetuate it
• Strengthen family, community, and neighborhood sanctions against violence as opposed to relying exclusively on the criminal justice system
• Work to maintain a strong network of services for all women who are at risk of and who have survived violence
• Demand that government officials take violence against women seriously and make it a key part of their agendas if they want your votes

Find out more about this book: Our Bodies, Ourselves: A New Edition for a New Era

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