Action Alerts Archive

• Stop violence against women and girls
• 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign
• Maternal Murder
• Men of the Church

Stop violence against women and girls

"But, in accordance with God's promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home."
(2 Peter 3:13 NRSV)

Background

As Presbyterians, we believe that, “People are free to seek life within the purpose of God: to develop and protect the resources of nature for the common welfare, to work for justice and peace in society, and in other ways to use their creative powers for the fulfillment of human life” (The Book of Confessions, “The Confession of 1967,” 9.17).  We are encouraged by the Spirit to work for a world where all people can live within this vision.     

This year, V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women and girls, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. V-Day generates broader attention for the fight to stop worldwide violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual slavery.

V-Day and UNICEF are calling for an end to rape and sexual torture against women and girls in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  The project is called “Stop Raping our Greatest Resource: Power to Women in the DRC.”  This project is a new global campaign to call attention to the wide-scale atrocities committed against women and girls in Eastern DRC and demand an end to the impunity with which these crimes are committed.  You can find out more about this campaign by visiting the VDay Web site and learn how you can support Congolese women demand an end to rape and other sexual violence. 

Source: VDay

Spotlight on the Democratic Republic of Congo

It is estimated that 3 to 4 million people have died in the war in the DRC since 1998, and many millions more have been and are currently displaced due to the conflict.  More than 250,000 women have become the victims of systematic rape and sexual violence in the region since the conflict began. 

UNICEF said in its Humanitarian Action Report this week that the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war against women and girls is reaching epidemic levels in the region.  Read the full report.     

For more information visit:

Democracy Now, “They Are Destroying the Female Species in Congo”: Congolese Human Rights Activist Christine Schuler Deschryver on Sexual Terrorism and Africa’s Forgotten War

What YOU can Do

Pray for an end to the sexual violence women are suffering in the Congo, and for healing, transformation and peace to come to that country. 

Donate funds to the Presbyterian Women (PW) Palms Project.  The Palm Project is a new mission program in which groups or individuals can make donations for the establishment of palm plantations in Congo, once the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Learn more and donate.

Learn about and support the Department of Women and Children for the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa, which is supported by the PC(USA), which identifies and provides for the needs of women and children in their community. Learn more.

Say “NO” to violence by visiting the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). By saying “no” to violence you contribute $1 to ending violence against women.  The United Nations Foundation will contribute up to $100,000 to UNIFEM.

Educate yourself on the sexual violence occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and then tell someone else about it. Learn more about the violence.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

“Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders …” (Isaiah 60:18 NSRV)

Background

As Presbyterians we proclaim, “In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage … to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom and peace” (The Book of Confessions, "A Brief Statement of Faith," 10.4). The Spirit compels us to work for justice for all people, including the right for all women to live lives free of violence and the threat of violence.     

This Sunday, November 25, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It kicks off the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, which ends December 10th, International Human Rights Day.

Since 1991 the 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

• Raising awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
• Strengthening local work around violence against women
• Establishing a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women
• Demonstrating the solidarity of women around the world organizing against violence against women

Source: Center for Women's Global Leadership

16 Days in 2007

The 2007 16 Days Campaign theme is “Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles: End Violence Against Women.” In collaboration with others, the 16 Days Campaign seeks to help dismantle obstacles and overcome challenges posed by social attitudes and policies that continue to condone and perpetuate gender based violence.

A few suggestions for focusing advocacy in this year’s campaign include:

• Demanding and securing adequate funding for work against violence against women;
• Calling for greater accountability and political commitment from states to prevent and punish all forms of violence against women in practice, not just in words;
• Increasing awareness of the impact of violence against women, including engaging in measures to end it by men and boys.

For more information visit:
Center for Women’s Global Leadership’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

United Nations Population Fund Ending Violence Against Women

What YOU can Do

Pray for victims of violence against women and their perpetrators

Advocate for the United States to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) — the PC(USA) Peacemaking Program offers an education and information packet. And learn more about their upcoming meeting. 

Get involved with the Presbyterians Against Domestic Violence Network.
Here you can access worship materials and other resources for your congregation. If you are a pastor, consider preaching on bringing an end to gender-based violence and encourage others to do so as well.  

Encourage your congregation to sign onto the National Declaration By Religious and Spiritual Leaders to Address Violence Against Women

Volunteer with organizations in your community who are responding to the needs of women affected by violence. 

For More Information on how to be “… doers of the word” (James 1:22a) please contact:

Tiffany B. Gonzales
Office of Women’s Advocacy, Intern

Maternal Murder

"You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13, NRSV)

Background

Jessie Davis and her unborn daughter Chloe have made national headlines this past week. Though the accused have not formally been convicted, the potential culpability of Jessie’s significant other recounts an eerily familiar phenomenon. 

It has been dubbed the “Laci Effect.” The individual circumstances vary, but there are chilling similarities — women who have made the conscious decision to become mothers and are near the end of their gestation period when they become victims of fatal intimate violence.

This may seem to be an abnormal mindset, but this misogynistic view is only an extreme manifestation of the de rigueur patriarchal attitudes rampant in American society. Patriarchal attitudes envision women as subordinate object or the “property” of men, inferior in a way that devalues women’s humanity.

Consider this:

“Although males were almost 4 times more likely than females to be murdered in 2004, among all homicide victims, females are particularly at risk for intimate killings and sex-related homicides. Female victims are more likely than male victims to be killed by an intimate or family member.” (Bureau of Justice Statistics: Homicide trends in the U.S. Trends by gender)

“From 1976 to 2002, about 11% of homicide victims were killed by an intimate partner (Fox and Zawitz 2004). Previous literature suggests that women who have separated from their abusive partners often remain at risk of violence (Campbell et al. 2003; Fleury, Sullivan and Bybee 2000).One study found that 44% of women murded  by their intimate partner had visited an emergency department within 2 years of the homicide. Of these women, 93% had at least one injury visit (Crandall et al. 2004).” (Statistics from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Intimate Partner Violence: Overview)

History has shown that dehumanization is the first step towards excusing cruel, inhumane and degrading acts towards another human being. Patriarchy has the ability to normalize and incite misogyny. Patriarchy thereby makes countless women susceptible to a tragic demise similar to that of Laci and Jessie and other nameless women whose murders go un-publicized.

Faithfully, work to dismantle patriarchy. Be encouraged in your efforts to ensure the recognition of women’s full humanity.  

For more information see:

The Laci Effect by David France
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  — Intimate Partner Violence: Overview
Bureau of Justice Statistics Homicide trends in the U.S.— Trends by gender
Bureau of Justice Statistics Homicide trends in the U.S.— Infanticide

In the news:

“Second Arrest In Pregnant Woman's Death”
“Why Pregnant Women Become Murder Victims: Pregnancy Doesn’t Protect Women From Abuse — or Murder”
“Homicide: A Top Cause of Death Among Pregnant Women”
“Violence trails expectant mothers, data indicate: Missouri case may be part of a larger pattern”

Action Possibilities

Pray for the end of patriarchy. Pray for an end to women’s vulnerability. Pray also for healing of the wounds in our world caused by patriarchy. Pray that more people will discern how to live out their Christian faith through women’s advocacy.

Find out if your community has a domestic violence shelter, or enough of them to meet local needs. Urge your congregation to connect with local providers or build a shelter to house vulnerable women if one is needed.

Encourage your congregations, presbyteries and synods to create councils on justice for women to dismantle patriarchy at their respective level of the Church.

Learn more about the vulnerabilities pregnant women face from the National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)

For more information on how to be “…doers of the word” (James 1:22a) please contact:

Shaya S. Gregory
Women's Advocacy Young Adult Intern

Men of the Church

“Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 16:20, NRSV)

Background

Many presume that advocacy for women means taking an adversarial posture to and relationship with men when in fact men have a significant role to play in women’s equality.  The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) encourages men and women to work in partnership to promote rights and opportunities for women.

June 17, 2007, was “Men of the Church” Sunday, “designated as the Sunday that is usually recognized as "Father's Day." It is celebrated to give thanks for the witness that men make in the home, the workplace and the community.  It is a time to celebrate the unique possibilities that lie ahead in the future when men and women, working together, lift up the gospel in every realm of their daily existence. 

This opportunity to celebrate the contributions of men therefore presents itself to women’s advocates as a chance to engage in conversation about the role of men in gaining women’s equality.

“Gender inequality holds back the growth of individuals, the development of countries and the evolution of societies, to the disadvantage of both women and men. It is well understood that the achievement of gender equality is not possible without the active involvement and support of men.  Men must be reached and included so that interventions for women and girls are not derailed by male resistance.”
— Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children

As ministers, elders, deacons, trustees, ushers, fathers, brothers, uncles, mentors and friends, men can support the rights of women by:

• Educating themselves about how rigid male gender roles and gender inequality hurts all of God’s children (men and women);
• Not perpetuating or condoning gender based-violence;
• Socializing young men to value young women and view their well-being equally;
• Mentoring young people for leadership with attention paid to gender justice; 
• Exploring the privileges and costs of traditional masculinity;
• Engaging in issues of violence (as a man or boy) and delight in compassion;
• Building alliances between men and women in church and society;
• Empowering and affirming the right of women and girls in their lives to flourish and have wholeness; and
• Serving as an example to other men of how to live out your Christian faith through women’s advocacy.

For more information:

Learn more about Men in the Church Sunday.

Read Masculinities: Male Roles and Male Involvement in the Promotion of Gender Equality: A Resource Packet.

Action Possibilities

Lift up faithful men you appreciate in prayer. Pray that all men will participate in healing the wounds in our world caused by patriarchy.

Encourage the Presbyterian Men of your congregation to address male involvement in eliminating gender-based violence using curricula and resources like Turn Mourning Into Dancing.

For more information on how to be “…doers of the word” (James 1:22a) please contact: