By Diana, Member, Campus Organizing Team

Reports often state that poor women are disproportionately affected by abusive relationships, but violence against women spans all classes, all races, and all ages. In many cases, women who are deemed powerless, culturally submissive, or vulnerable by males or abusive partners are the most likely victims of abuse. In the United States, the majority of cases reported involving violence against women were among wives. Also, in other countries where religion often dictates how women should be treated, violence against women is common but is often not reported due to the fear of suffering from more abuse. Young girls are the most common victims of rape and molestation, often by someone they know.

Whatever the situation may be, violence against women, and anyone for that matter, is wrong, and needs to be eliminated. Not only does it affect the woman’s self-worth, it teaches our young people bad lessons about how a woman should be treated. Women should not be beaten, raped, or name-called, but loved, respected, and uplifted. Sadly, it is often those who were abused and who have never sought help for it, who do the abusing when older. We must strive to make everyone aware that violence is not acceptable and should be put to rest.

Growing up, I personally witnessed violence in my home. On the outside, my family was an ordinary, working-class family, who seemed to live ‘normal’ lives. However, like many families, the picture inside is not always pretty. For years, I watched as my mother deteriorated from the abusive relationship she was in. She became vulnerable and secluded herself from her friends, family, and often herself. Her actions affected me in that I learned to show no emotions - emotion was a sign of weakness for me. For the fear of becoming a single parent if she were to leave, she endured psychological and physical abuse for years - until she realized that a life without abuse is a life without fear, and a life without fear, is better than none.

I cannot claim to know everybody’s situation, but I do know that violence is more common then people realize. Violence can be the horrific scenes depicted in the movies that we see, and violence can be subtle. The scary thing is that there is no way of knowing what others are capable of doing until it has already happened. In many relationships, violence often starts out as mental abuse and then progresses from there. Since violence has a cumulative effect on the person’s well-being, it is often too late before the woman can escape the relationship without suffering from some type of harm. With the proper awareness, on the other hand, a woman has a better chance of recognizing a violent relationship before getting too deeply involved.

The elimination of violence against women should be a campaign that all genders participate in. Since women are ten times more likely to be abused then men, awareness needs to be spread internationally so that both male and females know that it should not be tolerated. It takes two people to be in an abusive relationship, so efforts need to be made to correct the actions of the abusers, and to rebuild the mental and physical states of the abused. Many countries have means for supporting abused women and girls such as safe-space centers, shelters, and hotlines to talk to professionals; unfortunately, there are just as many more countries that deny this type of access to women. In these situations, we can only try by participating in days of awareness like White Ribbon Day, held annually on November 25, to raise awareness of violence against women and advocate to end it.