Thread by @poetsoup

Today is the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The violence, harassment & inequity perpetrated & fostered by men against women must stop & it‘s up to men to stop it.

#WhiteRibbonDay

An est 6% of males are rapists, that's approx. 234mil worldwide. This stat comes from two different studies cited below on the veracity of the Enliven Project re: the legal issues around rape, prosecutions & concerns about false accusations.

yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/mee…

In the UK, the number of prosecutions & convictions for rape is down to the lowest level since annual recording began. In Ireland, 50% of women experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime, compared to a fifth of men.

irishexaminer.com/news/arid-4008…

Domestic Violence, common assault or indeed the persistent occurrences of violent, degrading & sometimes life-threatening messages that women who don't conform to the status quo or to male informed

ideologies/dogmas receive daily are also direct & indirect violence & abuse that women have to deal with. & since rapists, abusers & misogynists don't usually have a note on their forehead claiming as such, it's a burden all women, everywhere share:

to be wary of all male bodied people & the threat they carry. It must also be noted that there are too many women in the world who can't identify out of the violence, abuse & degradation meted out to them due to their biological sex.

I would encourage everyone, particularly my fellow men, to have a read of this heartbreaking, illuminating piece by Jessica Valenti as it's a sublime example of why we shouldn't fall for the "not all men" trope or find insult in it.

theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2…

"We know that direct violence causes trauma; we have shelters, counsellors, services. We know that children who live in violent neighbourhoods are more likely to develop PTSD. Yet we still have no name for what happens to women living in a culture that hates them."

"what diagnosis do you give to the shaking hands you get after a stranger whispers “pussy” in your ear on your way to work? What medicine can you take to stop being afraid that the cab driver is not actually taking you home?"

"And what about those of us who walk through all this without feeling any of it–what does it say about the hoops our brain had to jump through to get to ambivalence? I don’t believe any of us walk away unscathed."

& yet some, even Human Rights Orgs like @AmnestyIreland claim that biological sex is not only outdated, but a "bigoted-hateful-right wing" reaction & would subjectively & selectively deny that women face discrimination or abuse based on their sex or claim they've weaponised it.

They have even called for the removal of political representation, showing that we've entered a new era of abuse, one that includes de-platforming, academic/workplace harassment, online threats of physical/sexual violence & doxxing. it is, always, a very dangerous time for women.

The next big push was meant to make equal pay & equal representation a reality for our daughters, to ensure women were safe in the workplace/the street/their homes, to tackle the horrible practices of FGM, honour killings & period huts-

to put an end to a cycle of male violence in our society. It's difficult not to feel that we've taken a massive step back. All because men’s relationship & understanding of masculinity & what it means to be a man needs evolving.

So, thank you to all the amazing women who brave this every day, who jump through the hoops & yet still fight for Women's Rights. You are not alone.

#WomensRightsAreHumanRights #EndViolenceAgainstWomen