UniTE!!! HapPy 25th AmeRiCa!

I have for the past 6 months worked on raising awareness against violence against women at my site. Tonight, I went online and saw this article:  sexual threats against Emma Watson and became quite disgruntled. 

It also allowed me to start some research and here is what I have found as it pertains to the U.S. There is a pervasive problem in the U.S for violence against women. In one survey conducted, it was found that more than half of the women surveyed had reported being physically assaulted by either an adult caretaker as a child or as an adult by another adult. Nearly 1/5th reported being raped at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 2.1% of women reported being physically assaulted or raped in the past 12 months. This number is equivalent to 2.1 million women who are raped or assaulted ANNUALLY in the United States. 8,000 women completed a survey administered by females with questions pertaining to rape, physical assault, stalking, victim-perpetrator relationships and specific examples of violence they had experienced.      Prevelance, incidence and consequences of violence againt women

On another site the most shocking information I read was as follows.
-More than 22 million US women have been raped in their lifetime,
- 63.84% of women have experienced rape, physical assault or stalking within their lifetime
-1/3 of female murder victims are killed by their intimate partner
-The FBI estimates that only 46% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials. 
If you want more facts visit this site as it is also a good read. (Please don't ignore it just because it is a feminist site)
violence facts 

 In Mongolia, violence against women is prevalent.  Women are discriminated against in life, the workplace, and home. While there are laws to promote gender equality, domestic violence continues to be an ongoing struggle. Existing laws are inadequate to deal with the struggles that women continue to face on a daily bases and lack of protection for victims and lack of prosecution on domestic violence cases yields little success on deterring offenders on participating in spousal abuse.  Sexual Harassment continues to be a problem as well.  This is a continuation of tradition and non-employment. While parliament passed a bill in February 2011on  "promotion of gender equality" this is still and ongoing issue, especially in the workplace. Furthermore, while there are specific laws that focus on rape carrying a 5-10 year sentence, unless it results in injury or entails death or a child under 14 (which yields a 15-25 year term or the death penalty); there is no current law that deals with spousal rape. For more information on this subject you can visit this website. http://www.stopvaw.org/mongolia

I feel that women have to continue to speak out about their personal experiences in order for change to ensue. Women have to start being more openly vocal and honest about their negative experiences so that awareness to be raised, and changes in social ideals can occur. Since this is my blog and I am preaching honesty and openness, it makes sense that I participate in expounding some of my personal experiences.

Since I came to Mongolia in 2013, I have experienced three instances of what is deemed sexual assault. My butt has been grabbed while walking down the street and dancing in a club by complete strangers.  I was so stunned the first time that all i could do was yell at the person in English as they sauntered away. The second time I smacked the 50 year old's hand off of my butt as I quickly walked away. The third time I was dancing at a club and pushed the guy.  The first time the male, about 21 years old looked at me like at a daze (he appeared very intoxicated), the second time the 50 year old and his friend laughed.  The last time, the guy got angry but walked away. Every time it has been disconcerting and upsetting. Subsequently, I find myself walking while constantly looking over my shoulder to see who is around and what threat they pose. I also find myself glaring at any male that comes close enough until he passes more than an arms length away.

I have also been sexually harassed at work by interns and teachers. In order to not completely burn bridges I have had to ignore inappropriate remarks from teachers, and have had to forcefully explained through English teachers what the expectations of my interns were as social workers in the school setting, stating; you will respect me and my professional experience and will act like professionals while in my office. I have also had to ignore the cat calls and whistles of Mongolians while walking down the street.  Interestingly enough, the minute I say something rude to them they state they are sorry and act like I have caused them discomfort.

While this feels more prevalent in Mongolia, this has happened throughout my life. Cat calls while walking down the street in Boston, dates that progressed too quickly, and rude comments from customers while waitressing or bartending.  This has also happened pretty consistently to my female friends. Friends that are grabbed, harassed, told inappropriate sexual comments in jobs or out in the world; old or young it doesn't seem to matter. The fact of the matter is, it happens and it happens too often, especially to women.

In 2014 we are still experiencing gender based violence. I find this horrifying. While the world is advancing in so many ways, it is still so far behind in creating a safe environment for our children to grow up in. While some men will experience these issues in their lifetime; the fact remains that as of current, women continue to be more at risk for violence, sexual assault, stalking and partner violence than their male counterparts. Spread the word and UNITE to end violence against women and girls.