It is fitting that V-Day Fall's in April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, “V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. V-Day is a catalyst that promotes creative events to increase awareness, raise money and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.”
V-Day began on February 14, 1998 at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom with a sold out benefit performance of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues ", that raised $250,0000 for local NYC anti-violence groups. Ten years on and V-Day is continuing to expand the awareness against violence. From one event to came the support of some 700 college campuses and more than 400 cities have now lead to a Worldwide Campaign that spans some 3000 benefits in 58 countries.
This year the UN children's fund (UNICEF) and V-Day have launched a new partnership to end rape in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and ensure justice for the victims. Women and girls of all ages, some only infants, continue to be sexually assaulted in the DRC, as the use of rape as a weapon of war continues with impunity.
Personally as an abolitionist I am no longer shocked or dismayed about reports of women and young girls mass raped in conflict ridden countries, girls found to have been the victims of trafficking in massage parlors, on craigs list, in newspaper ad's, on myspace, in strip clubs, etc. More and more reports are found on MSNBC, CNN, and so forth. Even the entertainment industry is cashing in on the heart wrenching stories of victims on such series as Law and Order’, CSI, etc. However local news reports, while increasing do not match the scale of the problem of modern day slavery and human trafficking, either internationally or locally. Slavery did not end 200 years ago, it's alive and well and one the the most profitable industries in the world. Nonetheless it is movements like V-Day, and Sexual Assault Awareness Month that are the catalyst for change and together we can work to free the 27 million slaves around the world.
For statistical information on gender based violence please see the The World Health Organization (WHO), Department of Justice's Violence Against Women Office, RAINN -Rape Abuse Incest National Network, The Family Violence Prevention Fund, and The National Human Trafficking Resource Center
See my previous posts on Gender Inequality, Child Trafficking and Slavery. Please also see my pages on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Links, Human Trafficking and Slavery Related Movies and Documentaries, and Slavery and Trafficking Related Books for more information on modern slavery and gender based violence.
