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NEWS & LETTERS, November 2004Stop the violence!
Memphis, Tenn.--October being violence against
women awareness month, several women from the Memphis Women's Action Coalition (WAC)
stood on a busy street corner two mornings last month with a coffin and signs
with statistics on violence against women. We dress all in black as we are
mourning those who have died because of domestic violence. Every year this is a
moving experience because women stop to talk to us. This year one woman got out of her car to talk and when
we explained our demonstration she said, "Talk about terrorism!" While
we had no signs equating the terrorism Bush wants us to fear with the terrorism
that many women experience every day, her comments made clear that she saw the
incredible violence women endure from those who supposedly "love" us
as a terrorism every bit as horrible as what comes from those we think of as
terrorists. We experienced this in another way when, after our explanation,
another woman said sadly, "Oh, I know about domestic violence." These
experiences show this demonstration's importance as there is no doubt that many
women who drive by experience violence in their lives and in this way they know
they have support and a place to go for help. In creating our signs, the statistic that showed me the
depth of the problem is that the number one cause of death for pregnant women in
the U.S. is murder.* Other signs read "Domestic violence hurts 243,000
every year," "Every day four women die from domestic violence,"
"For every incident of domestic violence reported, six are
unreported." We also had the Domestic Abuse Hotline phone number displayed.
Despite the carnage--in Memphis 14 women died from
domestic violence this past year--the Memphis Domestic Violence Prosecution Unit
was almost eliminated and in January the specialized Domestic Violence Court
will be eliminated. This lack of will reveals the disregard national, state and
local governments have for this issue that reaches into so many women's lives.
We know if anything is to change, it will be because we made it happen. --Memphis WACer ========== *"A Buried Statistic: Murder is the leading cause
of death for pregnant women," by Kari Browne, MS. MAGAZINE, Fall 2004. |
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