Silence is the Enemy: Bloggers against rape and sexual violence

June 2, 3:58 AMSeattle Grassroots ExaminerAlexandra Kain

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The opportunity has arisen to take action on a pressing and tragic issue and I, your Seattle Grassroots Examiner, will be your local host for 'Silence is the Enemy' throughout the month of June. I will donate 100% of my June Grassroots Examiner revenues to combat rape and sexual violence around the world. Here is an excerpt from the Intersection post that started the motion.

Today begins a very important initiative called Silence Is The Enemy to help a generation of young women half a world away. Why? Because they are our sisters and children–the victims of sexual abuse who don’t have the means to ask for help. We have power in our words and influence. Along with our audience, we’re able to speak for them. I’m asking all of you–bloggers, writers, teachers, and concerned citizens–to use whatever platform you have to call for an end to the rape and abuse of women and girls in Liberia and around the world.

In regions where fighting has formally ended, rape continues to be used as a weapon. As Nicholas Kristof recently wrote from West Africa, ‘it has been easier to get men to relinquish their guns than their sense of sexual entitlement.’ The war has shattered norms, training some men to think that ‘when they want sex, they need simply to overpower a girl.’ An International Rescue Committee survey suggests 12 percent of girls aged 17 and under acknowledged having been sexually abused in some way over the previous 18 months. Further, of the 275 new sexual violence cases treated Jan-April by Doctors Without Borders, 28 percent involve children aged 4 or younger, and 33 percent involve children aged 5 through 12. That’s 61% age 12 or under. We read about their plight and see the figures, but it’s so easy to feel helpless to act in isolation. But these are not statistics, they are girls. Together we can do more. Mass rape persists because of inertia so let’s create momentum.

Here at the Seattle Grassroots Examiner page I'll be focusing on local issues, organizations, individuals and stories dealing with rape and sexual violence. I'll also cover local volunteer opportunities and other ways you can do your part. And you can start right now by bookmarking this page and those of my fellow bloggers involved in 'Silence in the Enemy,' because, like I mentioned above, I will be donating 100% of my June revenues from Examiner.com to this cause through Doctors Without Borders. Basically, each click on this page generates 1 penny so visit often. Thank you.