Global Feminisms Project Educational Toolkit
I think this example summarizes both
aspects, because Indigenous women also
define the act of dumping toxic waste,
for example, on their land or in their
river as violence that is a collective
right, but if that person does not have
clean water and is also physically
abused, violated in one way or another
within or outside the family or
community context, it also has
repercussions on life and health.
1 2
Now, there are two kinds of violence
against women. One is psychological.
Another is physical. When these
women bring the cases to us, even
they are not aware of how bad the
psychological torture has been. What
we do generally is, when we get a
petition, we’ll talk to the concerned
person and see how it goes. We’ll
talk to the man also.
3 4
I was the first to press charges, the
first accusation for psychological
damages. I think it also served to
take a breath and well, to encourage
women to report this other type of
harm, which is often invisible, but
many times it is crueler.
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Handout 1
Whenever we can, we talk about it,
we chat, not pointing fingers at
anyone, but always saying that
domestic violence is bad. As little as
we know, we are always talking
about it, to the young people, saying,
“Don’t let him do that. The first time
that your boyfriend squeezes or pulls
your arm, that’s already violence.”
But especially interpersonal violence
or family violence or relationship
violence… Whereas an adult woman
will talk about her partner being
abusive, a younger woman doesn’t
tend to so easily talk about a partner
being abusive.
We are saying violence against
women was beyond boundaries. It
cuts across ethnicity, it’s not about
how educated or how beautiful you
are, it wasn’t only affecting Muslims,
or Christians, it wasn’t only affecting
northerners against southerners, or
the poor against the rich, the key
thing is: you are a woman.
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Global Feminisms Project Educational Toolkit Handout 1

Peru Brazil
Rivera Angélica Souza Pinheiro
1 2

India USA
D. Sharifa SistaIISista
3 4

Nicaragua Nigeria
Juanita Jiménez Josephine Effah-Chukwuma
5 6