A WOW! e-Brief

Work of Women program @ World Neighbors

March 2007

Overview

World Neighbors Work to End Violence

A Conversation with Rainera Lucero and Natalie Elwell

 

Learn More and Get Involved

Become familiar with the signs and symptoms of domestic violence and abuse

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/domestic_violence_abuse_types_signs_causes_effects.htm

The most commonly known signs of someone being involved in a violent or abusive relationship are physical injuries like bruises and frequent “accidents.” But there are other, less obvious signs to look for. Familiarize yourself with these signs and symptoms, and share your learning with others.

Does your partner demean or belittle you? Do you fear what your partner might to do to you or your loved ones? Does your partner ever threaten you with taking your children or withholding money to control your actions? These are all signs that you are in an abusive relationship. Community or national hotlines can help you learn about the resources available and possible steps to take. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is one resource: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or http://www.ndvh.org/index.php.

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Break the silence and help others

If you have ever been in an abusive relationship and been able to overcome it, consider sharing your experiences. Volunteer at a local women’s shelter or for a group working to provide services to victim or community education on the issue.

There are growing numbers of resources to help teens experiencing dating violence. A special teen hotline is available at 866-331-9474, or log on to the interactive Web site, loveisrespect.org.

WomensLaw.org (www.womenslaw.org) offers easy to understand legal information on laws and resources that help those living in or seeking to escape abusive relationships.

Support the work of World Neighbors

Donate now and support World Neighbors as we move to disseminate best practices from our field sites and integrate gender into all of our work around the globe. The organization just completed a year-long process of identifying what works to improve women’s status in a variety of field sites, analyzing the lessons that can be shared with other sites and developing a strategy for strengthening this cross-cutting aspect of our work in all programs. This is a critical time, when we can act on what we have learned, disseminate it to others and address a core cause of violence against women.

Learn more

WomenWatch

http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2007/

WomenWatch is an online site gathering information and resources for promoting gender equity. It is a collaborative project among several United Nations agencies and institutions. Violence against women is one of their areas of concern, and a number of resources on the topic are available through their site. This year the UN released a background document on the International Women's Day theme "Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women and Girls," which is available for free download from the WomenWatch site: http://www.un.org/events/women/iwd/2007/background.shtm.

Equality Now

http://www.equalitynow.org/english/index.html

Equality Now works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure. Dedicated to issues like ending female genital mutilation, sex tourism and trafficking and stoning as a punishment for adultery, this group offers up-to-date information on human rights violations related to violence against women and opportunities for grassroots involvement.

Get involved in the White Ribbon Campaign

http://www.whiteribbon.ca

The White Ribbon Campaign is the world’s largest effort by men to end men’s violence against women. It was begun in Canada on the second anniversary of the 1989 Montreal massacre of female engineering students, and is now in 50 countries. The white ribbon symbolizes men’s pledges to “never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women.” Efforts like this among men are powerful, since they work directly to redefine masculinity and make violence unacceptable.

Utilize tools and materials from Raising Voices

http://www.raisingvoices.org/women/communication_materials.php

Based in Kampala, Uganda, Raising Voices works to prevent violence against women by addressing the root causes of violence. Their Web site offers high quality communications materials that are useful in understanding and talking about violence against women with others.

This section was prepared by Anita Russell, a spring intern with WOW, with contributions from Natalie Elwell, World Neighbors program coordinator for action learning, communication and gender.

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