#endgenderviolence

[gmuvuti]

📣 Raising Awareness: The Reality of Male Privilege & Women’s Safety 🚺

“📣 Raising Awareness: The Reality of Male Privilege & Women’s Safety 🚺 In a world where the safety of women remains a critical issue, it’s t

[hopicecream]

Dear Friends, The Hop has just created a team for and will be participating in #WalkaMileAsheville, which takes place this Saturday, 6/30 10am at Pack Square Park. And of all the amazing events we are a part of in #Asheville, this is the one that means the most to me. So every year, in an effort to #endrape, #endsexualabuse and #endgenderviolence, we run (some of us in heels) and try to raise as much money as possible for this wonderful event and @OurVOICEnc. Because of how things sometimes work out I personally have not been as involved this year so to make up for that Ashley and I have donated an initial $500 to the cause. If you also are down with Walk A Mile and/or Our VOICE, please consider donating on behalf of Team Hop (or donating in general, you really can't go wrong). You can do so at the link below. The attached photo is one of the posters that will be hanging around town. And as it says, We Walk for a Better Future. Our oldest (5) wrote the message and our little one (almost 2) is holding the sign :) . Thank you for your time and we hope to see you Saturday! Much Love, Greg . https://www.firstgiving.com/event/ourvoice/Walk-a-Mile-Asheville-2018/teams

[hopicecream]

The 8th Annual #WalkaMileAsheville this morning was a huge success! $60,000 was raised for @OurVOICEnc and their programs to help survivors of and help prevent rape, sexual assault and gender violence, which is incredible!!! And @barbieangell did an amazing job as Grand Marshal! And for the 7th year in a row Team Hop (including Ashley and my 4 yr old son) was the first team to cross the finish line. This time we opened it up to any Hopster that wanted to join, not just the male employees and we will continue to do this every year from now on. We are all affected by sexual assault and we have to all get together to build a safer community! Thank you to everyone who organized this wonderful event, the Hopsters who ran, the people who donated on behalf of Team Hop, my family, who attend #WalkaMile every year, and to anyone who had anything to do with this event in any way!!! All of it is greatly and sincerely appreciated! Much love and enjoy the rest of the day! Greg #Asheville #endrape #endsexualassault #endgenderviolence #avlent #ourvoice (at Pack Square Park)

[hopicecream]

What I will be wearing while serving you Ice Cream during the @OurVoiceNC #WalkaMileAsheville Fundraiser tonight, 6-9pm at The Hop on Merrimon :) #endrape #endsexualassault #endgenderviolence #ourvoice #walkamile #Asheville (at The Hop Ice Cream Cafe)

[morganheritageofficial]

A symbol representing the empowerment and strength of a woman. As we say #HappyInternationalWomensDay to our beautiful women all around the world. @unwomen #InternationalWomensDay #EndGenderViolence #BeBoldForAChange #TogetherWeAreStrong #HeForShe

[ituworld]

#16DaysOfActivism

So the 25th November marked the launch of the #16DaysOfActivism against gender violence. Everyone one who cares and those who simply dare to be relevant have updated their statuses, profile pictures, participated in one other campaign and very much showed their solidarity which is great, and in some ways shows that the issue remains relevant and a worthwhile point of advocacy.

I have for the past few years been a bit disgruntled by the campaign itself, in particular what its objectives are and if these are even met. I am however even more annoyed at the ceremonious attitudes that characterize this period. Coming from a place where there are high levels of gender based violence I recognize that violence against women in particular is on the rise even in the face of these advocacy programmes and campaigns...having said this, these are important and must be intensified.

In the past few months I have seen and heard of women being beaten up and others killed by their loved ones. A particular incident I recall is of a women who was killed by her boyfriend who is a key leader in one of the biggest youth political movements in South Africa today, the ANCYL. Of course the usual suspects, advocates (loud mouths) of gender equality in this organisation were the first in line to shame this incident and call for justice to be served and for the perpetrator to be punished...what is shameful is that the very men who call themselves feminists, pro-women, gender equality activists and all that were quite mum on the matter. This obviously reaffirming my stance that the loyalties of men will always lie with each other, even when this simply goes against the values of justice and equality that they claim to hold dear.   

In the student movement known as #RhodesMustFall #FeesMustFall which is driving access and transformation talks in institutions of higher learning in South Africa a similar incident happened. A male activist sexually harassed his comrade...the shame of it all however was in the punitive measures concerning this case. To cut a long story short the state was seen to be less harsh on dealing with this case than it was on dealing with ‘peaceful’ student protestors who intended no harm but sought to fight for their right to accessible education in this democracy.

I can only imagine that the many people who have found an identity in the ways that they have come to see both these ‘movements’as progressive and representing them and the hope for the future they want to see were heavily disturbed...faced with questions of whether the movement was still the same, and if it would ever be the same again. Of course one rotten apple doesn’t spoil the whole bag, but that bad apple certainly makes one question the quality of the rest of the apples in that bag.  

Last night I was privy to watching a film called #Cairo678 screened by #ActionAidIreland at the #NUIG #HustonSchoolOfFilm this film pushes boundaries of what sexual violence means in a context of societies that encourage us to preserve our values insofar as these relate to ones culture, the state, religion and other aspects easily regarded as intrinsic parts of who we are. Not only does this film beautifully simplify the politics of violence against women, it also provides lessons for women dealing with the trauma and pain of gender based violence. In many ways this is a story of women from different walks of life who are exposed to rejection, fear and shame simply because they are women...It shows how the safety of women is a constant burden for them and how this is totally disregarded by the very men who are ‘meant to provide safety’. 

I was made uncomfortable but also greatly inspired by this film. As a person who is affiliated to a political party, religious and also a product of the working class (this basically referring to my unshaken bias towards the poor and most vulnerable), I was forced to think deeper about my identity and how certain values and expectations may cause me to be against the cause without even being aware. At the end of the day, the status quo of the very institutions that shape who we are and become exist within a context that always privileges men over women...on any given day. To reconcile the deeply socialised self and the ‘WOKE’ self requires far more than hashtags and the support of comrades and allies in the struggle...it actually requires deep reflections about who one is and what one believes and truly aspires for, this is obviously a process and does not happen over a series of twitter storms but could extend to the length of an individuals lifetime. 

I strongly encourage those who have not seen the film to actually check it out, and hopefully it will inspire the transition from the hashtag activism of gender base violence towards a real fearlessness and courage to disrupt the very value systems and ideas that reinforce women’s pain...even if this only happens within.

Its not a myth, 1 in every 5 women in South Africa have been subjected to some kind of violence by a stranger or someone that they know and love. I know because I have seen this too many an occasion. The shame of coming out with this is at times far worse than the physical violence itself. Things MUST Change! #Skhathele

https://vimeo.com/54195168