INTERNATIONAL: Thanking Those Who Struggle to Eliminate Violence Against Women

As well as being Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., November 25 is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It has been a day marked by women's rights activists for decades to raise awareness about the terrible impacts of violence against women and about the work many are doing to eliminate this violence. This date was chosen to commemorate the brutal assassination ordered by the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, of three female political activists in the Dominican Republic on November 25, 1960.

Thinking back over the past year, some of the most impressive people I have met and people I would like to thank are those who have taken incredible personal risks to eliminate violence against women in their communities. In Colombia, I met women who pursued a legal case in the highest court in the country to protect displaced women against violence and extreme poverty. They did this despite personal threats against themselves and their family members and even the burning down of their community center in an attempt to intimidate them, which failed to do so. In Sudan, I met north Sudanese women who were willing to be arrested to protest the flogging of southern Sudanese women who had refused to comply with the dress code imposed on them by the northern Sudanese government. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, I met women who had suffered gang rape and gone on to set up women's organizations to support other survivors of such violence. In Haiti, I met with the leaders of local women's groups who had received death threats by gang leaders when they tried to protect women and children displaced by the earthquake from sexual violence in the camps. And in the Dominican Republic I met with Dominican women who were running legal advice programs for Haitian and Dominico-Haitian women who were suffering violence or were at risk of trafficking.

In each of these countries, I saw impressive efforts by national and international organizations to combat violence against women. Nevertheless, they were always piecemeal efforts that ultimately were not as successful as they would have been if a comprehensive holistic approach had been taken to the issue. Violence against women is a complex issue and it requires responses that include medical, legal, psychological, educational, security and diplomatic aspects.

This year, it did look as though the U.S. Congress was finally going to pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), which would require the United States to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy on preventing and responding to violence against women in all of its foreign assistance and diplomatic work. However, to our great disappointment, the bill was postponed yet again. Thanksgiving Day would be a good time to thank your Member of Congress if they co-sponsored the bill and to let them know that as his or her constituent you care about getting this piece of legislation passed during the “lame duck” session before Congress adjourns. If your Member of Congress has not co-sponsored the bill, please urge them to do so. Time is running out to get this bill passed.