What You Can Do to Tackle Women’s Issues

The statistics are sobering, even disheartening. According to various world agencies women are under attack all around the world, often in ways that society simply accepts as “the way things are.” It’s hard not to get discouraged about the state of women’s issues when you see statistics like these:

-          A woman in the United States is assaulted or beaten every 9 seconds.

-          One woman in 4 in the United States will experience domestic violence in her life.

-          One woman in 3 around the world will be assaulted in her life.

-          Three out of every 4 adults in the United States know someone who is or was involved in a relationship that involved domestic violence.

Thanks to activists who have worked hard to shine a bright light on domestic violence, people are more aware of this issue than they ever have been. In reality, the light shining on domestic violence may make it seem that we are making strides toward making life better for women around the world – but domestic violence is only one of many women’s issues that affect the lives of women, children and families – and by extension, all of society – every single day.

Other Women’s Issues Are Less Visible

Many issues affect and entrap women and children far more often than they do men, but they don’t usually get the same attention as domestic violence. These include crime organizations, cartels that engage in drug and human trafficking, illegal adoptions and even Internet love/money scams that target women in far higher numbers than they do men. Not surprisingly, the thousands of women a year who are entrapped and defrauded of tens of thousands of dollars – and sometimes suffer far worse fates – are far less visible than the men who fall for Nigerian brides scams, but any woman who has ever been on a dating service can tell you about the many contacts she receives from “nice men” who “only want to make her happy.”

In February, which is a month when we often highlight efforts to combat domestic violence and violence against women, it can seem especially discouraging to feel like we have made so few strides toward eradicating these women’s issues. It’s helpful to realize how far we have come in just a few short years even if there is still so very far to go. It was in the 1990s that the last state finally changed its legal codes to make it possible to charge a husband with sexually assaulting his wife, and not much before that, it was legal to beat your wife in most states. Today, nearly every state in the country has shelters, crisis hotlines and resources for women who are trying to escape lives of violence. These are just a few things you can do to help bring the same kind of awareness to other women’s issues that activists have brought to domestic violence.

-          Learn about issues like illegal adoptions and human trafficking. The more you know, the more you can help.

-          Listen non-judgmentally when a woman comes forward to talk about her experience with these issues. It takes a unique brand of bravery to tell others how you have been abused.

-          Share your own experiences. Many people doubt that these things really happen to women or believe that they happen to “other women” who probably deserve it. When you openly share your own experiences, you put a real, public face on these hidden women’s issues and make them harder to ignore.