+AMDG

An Advocacy against the Violence and Objectification of Women

Imagine a young girl, constantly being told to watch what she wears and after she is
sexually assaulted, the fault is hers for not looking “decent” enough. As she becomes a wife, she
is beaten and broken by her partner, guilted into thinking she is the cause of her own suffering
while her child helplessly witnesses her pain. It’s interesting to note how women throughout
history were always stereotyped as fragile and weak, and throughout the years, were withheld the
same opportunities as men, becoming a group that was excluded and heavily victimized. What’s
worse is while we think that this issue is no longer prevalent in our society, denying it is the
reason why countless women around the world are not given a platform to voice out their truth as
they are kept silent, in the dark. The United Nations (2020) defines violence against women as
“any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or
mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life. Countless women around the
world have been left voiceless, excluded, stripped of their identity, and denied from experiencing
a life of safety, comfort, and respect, becoming part of the excluded and vulnerable. This
advocacy stands up against the violence and objectification that countless women experience.
This advocacy, based on the UAP on walking with the excluded, specifically those who
dignity has been violated, seeks to change that. It seeks to develop a society where every woman
is safe being in public spaces and sheltered in a home where she is appreciated and loved. In
order to work towards this, we must begin with awareness. Most of the time, the societal
constructs that brainwash people into thinking that these atrocities are a part of being a woman is
why perpetrators continue to victimize and get away with it. When everyone, especially women,
is informed that violence and objectification directed towards them is inappropriate and subject
to legal criminality, they are able to become firmer in standing up for themselves. If everyone is
provided with educational instruction which establishes that violence and objectification towards
women is unacceptable, people are able to intervene whenever they become witnesses to these
actions. When people are educated to take a stand towards what is right, they work towards
doing it, becoming a voice to those who have lost theirs. Only by propagating an environment of
respect and dignity can these crimes truly be eradicated. Lastly, the advocacy would also seek to
provide support for those who have been victimized, to help them recuperate and take back their
silenced voice and worth. By establishing support groups and discrete hotlines for women to
reach out when they are victimized, these actions may be stopped and given due punishment.
This advocacy is all about providing a voice for women who have become victims of
gender-based violence and objectification. Women have to be there for each other and by
empowering one another to be stronger, women become closer to overcoming this societal issue.
By denying them the rights to liberty and respect, women are stripped of their identity as
individuals in our society and this is simply unacceptable. Although women have slowly
developed to become essential individuals in society, there is still bits of exclusion to be
abolished.
“Violence against women isn’t cultural, it’s criminal. Equality cannot come eventually,
it’s something we must fight for NOW”. -Samantha Power