by Jenny Sprong
This coming week (from Sunday to Wednesday) 21 -24 March 2010 a Gender Summit is being hosted in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Diakonia Council of Churches' Thursdays in Black Campaign is featuring as a best practice model to raise awareness and prevent Violence Against Women.
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Saturday, 13 March 2010
Lara Conley - In Black
This album from Devon singer songwriter Lara Conley has a haunting strength, its acoustic and folksy feel gives some heavy issues an intimate touch. Visit myspace to hear tracks from the album. "People are important. I think for people to realise that they are all equally important in the world, they need to be loved. If people are loved, they can learn to love others, and when that happens there is no room for inequality. It's not about swapping characters or roles, and it's not about fighting or getting angry to prove a point, it's just about being human and showing respect.
My music is inspired by the world around me, people, experiences, places, stories, thoughts and dreams. This collection of songs is focussed on issues of gender equality from my own perspective and are inspired by the belief that things can change. Happy listening!"
Lara x
This special album costs £6 (+1.60 p&p if ordered online), buy here or using the Buy Now button on the left hand toolbar!
Every Thursday people across the globe wear black as a personal and public protest against gender-based violence and inequality. It is a symbol of strength and remembrance, standing in solidarity with victims of violence and discrimination and demanding a fairer world for all. Proceeds from this album will go to Thursdays in Black, challenging gender inequality around the world. Thank you!
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Thursday, 26 November 2009
Why should we care about gender equality?
by Charlotte Page
Because we’re not even close to getting it right.
I have been wearing black on Thursdays for over a year now to stand in solidarity with those who experience violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and the more I look into the issues the more angry I am that this is being allowed to happen. I am proud to wear black to stand alongside women who experience gender based violence, and I am happy to stand up for human rights and I am appalled at the awful abuses that happen to women every day because they are not treated with respect and as equals.
Thursdays in Black is not about devaluing raising awareness of discrimination and violence against men, it is not about female supremacy, it is about putting the issue of gender equality on the table and saying ‘are we really going to let this happen?’
I have a friend who is deeply suspicious of statistics, and so am I, but I hope he will forgive me for highlighting a few here because I think they deserve to be known:
Out of the 130 million out-of-school youth in the world, 70% are girls.
75% of all HIV/AIDS infections in sub-Saharan Africa among people aged 15-24 are young women
Around 80% of maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to essential maternity and basic healthcare services.
These are issues that represent much deeper issues. It has been proven that educating girls is one of the most important things that can be done to tackle gender inequality and consequently to tackle poverty. Girls who are educated can earn more, are more likely to educate their own children and are more able to protect themselves against HIV. Children of both sexes whose mothers die in childbirth are less likely to attend school and more likely to live in poverty.
Gender equality is something that is tied up in economic development, poverty and injustice. But it is not just something affecting less developed countries. We can’t sit back and pat ourselves on the back. While I don’t pretend to understand how the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index is worked out (though they do explain it in the report) I do understand that they measure equality of opportunity between the sexes in all the countries in the world and represent it on a scale of 0 to 1. You don’t need to understand all the maths to know that if the country ranked first in the world is only achieving a number of 0.8276 we have nothing to be complacent about.
For me, wearing black on Thursdays is about recognising that these issues exist, that they are important and that I should not get complacent. It’s about the individual stories of women who are living through appalling injustices and it is about the bigger picture across the world. But mostly it is about recognising that if we can get this gender equality thing right then the world will be a better and fairer place for all, not just women.
Sources: All statistics are from The World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report which can be found at: http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm
Because we’re not even close to getting it right.
I have been wearing black on Thursdays for over a year now to stand in solidarity with those who experience violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and the more I look into the issues the more angry I am that this is being allowed to happen. I am proud to wear black to stand alongside women who experience gender based violence, and I am happy to stand up for human rights and I am appalled at the awful abuses that happen to women every day because they are not treated with respect and as equals.
Thursdays in Black is not about devaluing raising awareness of discrimination and violence against men, it is not about female supremacy, it is about putting the issue of gender equality on the table and saying ‘are we really going to let this happen?’
I have a friend who is deeply suspicious of statistics, and so am I, but I hope he will forgive me for highlighting a few here because I think they deserve to be known:
Out of the 130 million out-of-school youth in the world, 70% are girls.
75% of all HIV/AIDS infections in sub-Saharan Africa among people aged 15-24 are young women
Around 80% of maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to essential maternity and basic healthcare services.
These are issues that represent much deeper issues. It has been proven that educating girls is one of the most important things that can be done to tackle gender inequality and consequently to tackle poverty. Girls who are educated can earn more, are more likely to educate their own children and are more able to protect themselves against HIV. Children of both sexes whose mothers die in childbirth are less likely to attend school and more likely to live in poverty.
Gender equality is something that is tied up in economic development, poverty and injustice. But it is not just something affecting less developed countries. We can’t sit back and pat ourselves on the back. While I don’t pretend to understand how the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index is worked out (though they do explain it in the report) I do understand that they measure equality of opportunity between the sexes in all the countries in the world and represent it on a scale of 0 to 1. You don’t need to understand all the maths to know that if the country ranked first in the world is only achieving a number of 0.8276 we have nothing to be complacent about.
For me, wearing black on Thursdays is about recognising that these issues exist, that they are important and that I should not get complacent. It’s about the individual stories of women who are living through appalling injustices and it is about the bigger picture across the world. But mostly it is about recognising that if we can get this gender equality thing right then the world will be a better and fairer place for all, not just women.
Sources: All statistics are from The World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report which can be found at: http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/GenderGapNetwork/index.htm
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Violence
Statistics on violence against women: the global picture
Sexual and gender based violence against women paints a disturbing picture, up to one-third of adolescent girls report forced sexual initiation.
For example, a recent study suggests that in the United Kingdom:
- one in three teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend,
- one in four has experienced violence in a relationship,
- one in six has been pressured into sexual intercourse,
- one in sixteen said they had been raped.
- Mass rape of women and girls continues to be seen as somehow a legitimate military weapon.
Reports suggest that, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a war that lasted a mere three years, somewhere between 10,000 and 60,000 women and girls were raped.
Sexual violence against men and boys continues undaunted, unreported, understudied, and too often a source of ridicule and derision.
According to a number of studies, somewhere between 5 and 10% of adult males report having been sexually abused in their childhood.
Women suffer violence in health care settings, “including sexual harassment, genital mutilation, forced gynecological procedures, threatened or forced abortions, and inspections of virginity.”
Sexual violence in schools abounds almost in every country in the world, in Canada, 23% of girls experience sexual harassment.
There was a 25% rise in rape and sexual assaults between 2005 and 2007, among all violent crimes, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault showed the largest increase.
Adapted from www.cabsa.org.za
Author: Pieter Visser, accessed 25th November 2009
Sexual and gender based violence against women paints a disturbing picture, up to one-third of adolescent girls report forced sexual initiation.
For example, a recent study suggests that in the United Kingdom:
- one in three teenage girls has suffered sexual abuse from a boyfriend,
- one in four has experienced violence in a relationship,
- one in six has been pressured into sexual intercourse,
- one in sixteen said they had been raped.
- Mass rape of women and girls continues to be seen as somehow a legitimate military weapon.
Reports suggest that, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a war that lasted a mere three years, somewhere between 10,000 and 60,000 women and girls were raped.
Sexual violence against men and boys continues undaunted, unreported, understudied, and too often a source of ridicule and derision.
According to a number of studies, somewhere between 5 and 10% of adult males report having been sexually abused in their childhood.
Women suffer violence in health care settings, “including sexual harassment, genital mutilation, forced gynecological procedures, threatened or forced abortions, and inspections of virginity.”
Sexual violence in schools abounds almost in every country in the world, in Canada, 23% of girls experience sexual harassment.
There was a 25% rise in rape and sexual assaults between 2005 and 2007, among all violent crimes, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault showed the largest increase.
Adapted from www.cabsa.org.za
Author: Pieter Visser, accessed 25th November 2009
Friday, 13 November 2009
A Poem for Thursdays
by Melanie Frew
A Poem for Thursdays
Black for the night-fall; your fear of his return
Black for the bruise you try to explain away
Black for the widow; disregarded, disrespected
Black for the alcohol you drink to forget
Black for the child ripped from your womb
Black for the blood of another wasted month
Black for the skirt torn in frenzied attack
Black for the slashes on your face as a sign
Black for veil of a marriage arranged
Black for the bedroom where there’s no choice
Black for the market on which you are sold
Black for the memories of a childhood stolen
Black for the self-hatred
Black for the self-loathing
Black for the darkness that surrounds all you are
Black for the final escape on the tracks
A Poem for Thursdays
Black for the night-fall; your fear of his return
Black for the bruise you try to explain away
Black for the widow; disregarded, disrespected
Black for the alcohol you drink to forget
Black for the child ripped from your womb
Black for the blood of another wasted month
Black for the skirt torn in frenzied attack
Black for the slashes on your face as a sign
Black for veil of a marriage arranged
Black for the bedroom where there’s no choice
Black for the market on which you are sold
Black for the memories of a childhood stolen
Black for the self-hatred
Black for the self-loathing
Black for the darkness that surrounds all you are
Black for the final escape on the tracks
Sunday, 8 November 2009
The Bare Facts - Economics
Economic Deprivation
• Women produce nearly 80% of the food on the planet but receive less than 10% agricultural assistance i.e. access to land seeds, fertilizer or information (peace keeper)
• More than 1 billion people live in abject poverty on less than $1 a day. 70% of those people are women (kamilat.org)
• Women do 66% of the world’s work and get paid less than 10% of its income – in Africa it’s 80%
• Women comprise 21 of the 37 million people living below the poverty line in the US
• One year out of college women earn 20% less than men and 10 years later 31% less
• Women on average are away from workforce for 14.7 years compared to 1.6 years for men
• Women own around only 1% of the world's land
• Girls as young as 8 turning to prostitution in the DRC due to poverty
• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
• Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km
• Women produce nearly 80% of the food on the planet but receive less than 10% agricultural assistance i.e. access to land seeds, fertilizer or information (peace keeper)
• More than 1 billion people live in abject poverty on less than $1 a day. 70% of those people are women (kamilat.org)
• Women do 66% of the world’s work and get paid less than 10% of its income – in Africa it’s 80%
• Women comprise 21 of the 37 million people living below the poverty line in the US
• One year out of college women earn 20% less than men and 10 years later 31% less
• Women on average are away from workforce for 14.7 years compared to 1.6 years for men
• Women own around only 1% of the world's land
• Girls as young as 8 turning to prostitution in the DRC due to poverty
• 80% of the world's 27 million refugees are women
• Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km
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