The Pixel Project Selection 2018: 16 Films About Violence Against Women

In this age of Netflix, YouTube, and Vimeo, the visual mediums of film and television are particularly effective mediums for teaching and learning. This is why, for the past 6 years, The Pixel Project has been publishing lists of powerful films, documentaries and television shows that seek to inform and educate the public about the worldwide scourge of violence against women, its various forms, and what everyone can do to stop and prevent it.

This is the 7th year that The Pixel Project has curated a selection of powerful and thought-provoking films, documentaries and television shows that depict violence against women and girls (VAWG) in its various forms. This year, we have a more diverse selection than usual in two ways:

  • Geographically, our 2018 selection spans Asia, Europe and the Americas, depicting women and girls from different walks of life, dealing with different situations, but all with one thing in common – the violence they have or are experiencing in their lives.
  • Format-wise, we have included not just powerful documentaries but also recommendations for TV series, specific TV episodes, and also feature films that tackle the issue of VAW. Even if they are fictional, stories matter because they shape our culture and mindsets.

We hope that these films will inspire you to learn more about the various forms of violence against women and become a catalyst for change in your own communities. To learn more about each documentary, film, or TV series, click on the hyperlinked title of each selection.

Introduction by Anushia Kandasivam and Regina Yau. Written and compiled by Anushia Kandasivam with additional selections by Regina Yau.

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Selection Number 1: A Safe Distance (1986)

This short documentary looks at some innovative approaches to providing services and accommodation to battered women in rural, northern and Native Canadian communities. Though an old film, it is still a rare look at domestic violence in these communities. The film also focuses on a safe house within a Native community Reserve that is built and run by women to stand as a reminder that the Reserve will not tolerate violence against women.

A Safe Distance, Tina Horne, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Selection Number 2: Audrie & Daisy (2016)

“The words of our enemies aren’t as awful as the silence of our friends.” This American documentary, release on Netflix in 2016, is about the rape of two underage girls in two different towns at two different times, and the common ripple effect on families, friends, schools and communities when they each find out that their sexual assaults have been caught on camera. Besides being a story of sexual assault, this film takes a hard look at American teenagers and their communities in the world of social media bullying.

Selection Number 3: Big Little Lies (2017- )

A darkly comedic drama series about three emotionally troubled women who become embroiled in a murder investigation, this series also touches on violence in the home between parents and at school between children. It explores how children learn or are taught to see threatening behaviour as a prank or all in good fun and how even the most violent behaviour can seem innocuous if it is treated as normal.

Selection Number 4: Call the Midwife (2012 – )

An unexpectedly feminist and socially conscious BBC period drama, Call the Midwife is about a group of nurse midwives working in London in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Now in its 7th season, its episodes have dealt with issues of domestic violence, unwanted pregnancies, poverty, prostitution, sexual violence and even female genital mutilation.

Selection Number 5: Greenshaw’s Folly – Agatha Christie’s Marple, Season 6, Episode 2 (2013)

The UK’s ITV network has long been renowned for their pitch perfect adaptations of Agatha Christie’s seminal detective series into multiple seasons comprising well-produced movie-length episodes. In this adaptation of Greenshaw’s Folly, one of the Miss Marple mysteries, the producers updated the storyline to include domestic violence – specifically showing Miss Marple helping a young woman and her son flee their abusive husband and father. This gets intertwined with the central mystery in various ways but the most gratifying outcome of all is that the abuser eventually gets nabbed when he attempts to abduct his wife and son.

Selection Number 6: Finding Home (2014)

A documentary about human trafficking, this film follows three young Cambodian women who were trafficked when they were in their early teens, and now live in a safe house, telling their unique stories. It shows the complexities and difficulties of learning how to deal with horrific abuse and the struggle girls and young women in conservative societies face in overcoming their trauma and building a future for themselves.

Finding Home Trailer from Flying Treasure on Vimeo.

Selection Number 7: I Can Speak (2017)

A South Korean comedy-drama film about an elderly woman who seems constantly dissatisfied with the world around her and the unlikely friendship she strikes with a young man who teaches her English. This takes an unexpected twist when her teacher finds out the real reason she wants to learn English. This film is also an exploration and discussion of the topic of Korean ‘comfort women’ during World War II, and the importance of speaking and telling your story of survival.

Selection Number 8: I, Tonya (2017)

A biographical film about Olympian figure skater Tonya Harding, based on extensive research and interviews with Harding herself, her mother, ex-husband and others, this film depicts Harding’s life from the time she was a child, her difficult journey to the Olympics, her controversial involvement in the shocking physical attack on rival figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, and the aftermath of that life-changing incident. The film sheds stark light on Harding’s life behind-the-scenes and the cycles of abuse she experienced – an abusive mother leads her to an abusive husband – and subtly explores how prevalent abuse can shape the world-view of anyone, even a celebrated athlete.

Selection Number 9: Namrata (2009)

In this very short documentary – only 9 minutes – Namrata Gill tells the story of how as a very young woman, she married a man and moved to Canada, and after 6 years finds the courage to leave her abusive husband and start a surprising new career. Even in this short film, the audience learns about the isolation of an abusive relationship in a foreign country and the importance of community support.

Namrata, Shazia Javed, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Selection Number 10: Roll Red Roll (2018)

This documentary by Nancy Schwartzman tackles the ubiquity and horror of rape culture in the U.S. by chronicling the Steubenville Ohio case – the notorious 2012 case of the high school sexual assault of a teenage girl by the star players of a Steubenville, Ohio, football team that became known internationally. The film, had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and documents the case in such a powerful fashion that your feelings of outrage will persist long after the movie is over.

Selection Number 11: Secret Superstar (2017)

This Bollywood drama is on the surface a whimsical tale of a schoolgirl whose biggest dream is to be a singing superstar. Underneath that is an exploration of how domestic violence, and patriarchal and societal norms, combined with an inability to break through the ceiling of a lower socio-economic class keep women and girls from getting an education and achieving their dreams, and perpetuate cycles of violence within families and societies. But it does also show how allies, both male and female, can help to break the cycle.

Selection Number 12: Slut Or Nut: Diary of a Rape Trial (2018)

Slut or Nut: The Diary of a Rape Trial is an Indiegogo crowdfunded documentary film which is an eye-opener about what happens in Canada when a victim reports their rape. The documentary goes through rape survivor Mandi Gray’s story as a device to walk the viewer through what it is like to report rape or sexual assault, do a rape kit, and stand as a witness in the trial of the assaulter. It also offers viewers who are victims and survivors useful information on alternate routes to find justice and comfort after a sexual assault. Director Kelly Showker is herself a sexual assault survivor.

Selection Number 13: The Apology (2016)

This documentary is about three former ‘comfort women’ who were among the 200,000 girls and women kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army during World War II. The film follows three women from South Korea, China and the Philippines, now in their twilight years, as they break decades of silence and tell about how their past shaped them and continues to impact their lives. Whether they are seeking a formal apology from the Japanese government or finding the courage to tell the truth to their families, the film depicts their incredible resolve to live as survivors.

Selection Number 14: The Testimony (2015)

In 2012, after the M23 rebellion drove the Congolese Army out of the eastern city of Goma, the retreating army systematically raped hundreds of civilian women in the town of Minova. This short documentary is about the Minova Trial, the largest rape tribunal in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the fifty-six women who testified while being covered by a black veil to protect their identities.

Selection Number 15: Three Girls (2017)

This three-part BBC miniseries is a dramatised version of events surrounding the Rochdale child sex abuse ring that involved 9 men trafficking underage girls in England. The story is told from the viewpoint of three of the victims, showing how they were groomed and focusing on how the authorities failed to investigate allegations of rape because the victims were perceived as unreliable witnesses before lobbying by certain investigators resulted in the case being reopened and the eventual convictions of the perpetrators.

Selection Number 16: Veronica Mars (2004-2006)

A mainstay of the early 2000s, Veronica Mars is a noir mystery drama TV series about its eponymous teen private investigator. While Veronica solves various mysteries throughout the series, a main story arc is her investigating and dealing with the aftermath of her own drugging and rape at a high school party. While not physically strong like her predecessor Buffy, Veronica is whip-smart and powerful in other ways. Somewhat before its time, this series explores how she rises above being ostracised, mocked and not believed, to being a survivor and fighting for justice.

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All pictures used are Creative Commons images (from top to bottom):

The Pixel Project Selection 2018: 16 Books About Violence Against Women

 

Far from being merely a source of entertainment, storytelling frames reinforce and transmit culture and beliefs. More than that, stories have the power to fire the imagination and inspire new thoughts and ideas and thus to shape – or reshape – the perspective of individuals, communities and cultures about everything from tradition to gender.

In recognition of the power of storytelling to inspire change, The Pixel Project has put together our third annual selection of 16 books that depict violence against women and girls. Some of these stories are popular genre fiction while others are well-received non-fiction. Nevertheless, all of them will educate the reader in some way about gender-based violence, rape culture, sexism, and misogyny. The books and book series in this list have been selected from a wide range of genres including fantasy, crime/mystery, science fiction, and autobiography.

This year, our fiction selection are books led by female protagonists who have experienced VAW and whose stories show the aftermath of the violence on their lives and how they cope with it. For the first time, we also include a number of romance series and novels as acknowledgement of how romance has evolved to actively address issues of consent and violence against women.

Our non-fiction selection shows a common trend of depicting entrenched and pervasive violence against women and sexism in the diverse societies and worlds that they portray while offering threads of hope as people and characters fight for and maintain a world where women and girls are free from abuse.

This list is by no means complete as there are hundreds of books out there that deal with violence against women in its various forms. However, we hope that these 16 books and series will be a starting point for you, as they have for others over the years, to push for change in your community and culture.

Introduction by Anushia Kandasivam and Regina Yau; Written and compiled by Anushia Kandasivam and Regina Yau

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Book Selection #1: Asking for It (2016) by Louise O’Neill

Narrated by 18-year-old Emma O’Donovan, who was raped after a party, this novel explores how a person can become objectified in a world ruled by social media and where misogynistic rape culture is the norm. An unusual and visceral story in that the protagonist herself is unlikeable with unlikeable friends and it does not hold back on portraying how vile the online world can become, it skillfully chronicles the physical and psychological effects of being violated, feeling voiceless and descending into depression. It also asks important questions about rape culture, sexism and social media abuse.

Book Selection #2:​ A Thousand Splendid Suns (2008) by Khaled Hosseini

The second novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini after his debut The Kite Runner, this story is primarily about female relationships, set against a backdrop of a patriarchal society, domestic violence and war. The story follows Mariam and Laila, born a generation apart but brought together by circumstance that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other. It tracks the strong bond they form as they struggle to live with an abusive husband and the ever-increasing danger and hardship of living in Kabul, and how the love, strength and self-sacrifice of women are often the key to survival.

Book Selection #3: Desert Flower (1998) by Waris Dirie and Catherine Miller

Born to a nomadic family in the Somali desert, Waris Dirie was subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) at the age of five. This autobiography details her difficult childhood in a harsh land, where she had to contend with oppressive patriarchal norms and sexual abuse, to an arduous journey to London where she worked as a housemaid, and then her remarkable transformation into an internationally acclaimed fashion model and human rights ambassador. In her book, Dirie speaks openly about living with the effects of FGM and frankly about why the practice must be stopped. Experiencing the everyday life of a survivor through her own words makes this a worthy read.

Book Selection #4: I Am Vidya: A Transgender’s Journey (2013) by Living Smile Vidya

A compelling autobiography of a transgender woman’s journey to find and live her true identity, this book is also a unique insight into the duality of conservative Indian society and its rich cultural history. Vidya chronicles her journey from being born a boy, realising her true nature, being an outcast from her family and society, suffering the indignities and violence forced upon transgender people and her eventual claiming of her true self.

 

Book Selection #5: Lake Silence (2018) by Anne Bishop

In her latest book set in the bestselling urban fantasy series of The Others, Anne Bishop makes her lead protagonist Vicki DeVine, a divorced woman who left her abusive husband to carve out a new life for herself as the proprietor and caretaker of a rustic resort that she inherited via her divorce settlement. Bishop presents a nuanced, sensitive, and compassionate portrait of a survivor navigating through PTSD and other fallouts from her abusive marriage while also solving a murder mystery involving her abusive ex. Not your usual urban fantasy or mystery fare. And the best part? The abuser gets his comeuppance in the most satisfying way.

Book Selection #6: Mommy’s Black Eye (2009) by William George Bentrim, illustrated by Christi Schofield

Domestic violence exists everywhere. Often, children may not actually witness the violence but see the aftermath, such as their mother’s black eye. Aimed at younger children who have not been exposed to the topic of domestic violence before, this book glosses over some of the bigger issues of domestic violence but explains what it is and attempts to help them understand what is going on in their lives. It concludes open-ended with discussion of counselling and potential healing as a family.

Book Selection #7: Practical Magic (2003) by Alice Hoffman

Practical Magic is one of #1 New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman’s most famous (and cherished) books. The story centers around the Owens family of witches who have, for more than two hundred years, been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Even more insidious is the curse that an ancestor laid on them that decreed that no Owens woman would ever find true love… and if she did, that relationship would end with her lover’s death. Among other feminist themes, the book focuses on Sally and Gillian Owens who attempt to escape the Owens curse, but end up having to deal with Gillian’s malicious and abusive boyfriend. Hoffman handles the subject of domestic violence very deftly through the eyes of both sisters – showing Sally’s unwavering support of Gillian despite their differences and how both of them cope with the fallout from the abuser’s actions and accidental murder.

Books Selection #8: ​Rape: A Love Story (2004) by Joyce Carol Oates

Beginning with an account of the gang rape of female protagonist Teena Maguire, which left her near dead, and which was witnessed by her young daughter, this story is a condemnation of misogyny, skillfully tackled by author Joyce Carol Oates, who also wrote When We Were the Mulvaneys. Oates spares none of her characters – Teena is shown to be both good and flawed, there are no doubts about who the attackers are and they are named and described contemptuously. This is an extraordinary exploration of the aftermath and myriad consequences a horrible crime can have on individuals and whole communities.

Book Selection #9: Room (2011) by Emma Donoghue

This story is perhaps better known through the award-winning 2015 film adaptation, but the novel is well worth the read. Told through the eyes of curious, bright 5-year-old Jack as he explores the only world he knows – the tiny Room where he was born after his mother was imprisoned by the man who kidnapped her as a teenager – the story is really about how Jack and his mother cope with their captivity, slowly learn to live in the outside world again and deal with their trauma, how other people react to them, and the complex feelings of happiness and grief that they and their family go through.

Book Selection #10: Set The Night On Fire (2016) by Jennifer Bernard

Jennifer Bernard is a Romance author who is well-known for her books starring firemen as the lead male love interest. While this may lead many people to regard her books as typical wish-fulfillment fare for straight female readers, Bernard’s books are a cut above many others in the crowded field of Contemporary Romance because she is very adept at handling the issue of consent. In Set The Night On Fire, the first book in her Jupiter Point series, she handles the issue of rape and victim-blaming with insight and a strong message about believing victims and holding rapists accountable.

Book Selection #11: ​Simply Irresistible (2017) by Jill Shalvis

#1 New York Times bestselling contemporary romance author Jill Shalvis is renowned for her humour and ability to portray emotions authentically, particularly in her female characters, as they go through the ups and downs of building relationships with the men in their lives. In Simply Irresistible, the first book in her Lucky Harbour series, Shalvis takes on the issue of intimate partner violence and how its effects ripple through the lives of the protagonist, her sisters, and her love interest. Shalvis’ approach is less on-the-nose than many of the other selections in this list so it may be a good option for introducing the issue to a fellow romance reader who may not have thought about it previously.

Book Selection #12: The Alpha and Omega series (2008 – ) by Patricia Briggs

The Alpha and Omega series is Patricia Briggs’ spin-off companion series to her celebrated Mercy Thompson Urban Fantasy series. Anna Latham, the lead female protagonist, is a survivor of prolonged abuse (including rape) by the deranged and power-hungry alpha of a werewolf pack which tried to force her Omega wolf into servitude to them. In the first book of the series (Cry Wolf), we see Briggs very adroitly explore and show the psychological effects of rape and abuse on victims, the damage caused by bystanders who would rather turn a blind eye, and the monumental struggle that survivors face in learning to trust and relax around others.

Book Selection #13: The In Death series (1995 – ) by J.D. Robb

J.D. Robb is the pen name that #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts uses for her long-running and very popular near-future In Death series which features Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her criminal mastermind-turned-legitimate-business-tycoon husband Roarke. Eve survived vicious childhood sexual abuse by her father to go on to be one of the toughest officers in New York City and the go-to detective for difficult cases involving the full spectrum of crimes involving violence against women and children. Throughout this very long series, Robb/Roberts gives readers a clear and unflinching look at the lifelong effects of sexual abuse via Eve’s development as a character. The striking thing is that while Eve’s experience certainly drives her fight for justice, she does not let it rule her life and she does this with the help of her friends, co-workers, and husband – a clear message that it takes a village to help with the healing.

Book Selection #14:​ The Kitty Norville series (2005 – 2015) by Carrie Vaughn

New York Times bestselling Fantasy author Carrie Vaughn is best-known for her Kitty Norville series featuring the rise of Kitty Norville, a female werewolf and late-night radio talk show host for the supernatural, from an abused subordinate to a major power in her own right. The entire first book in the series (Kitty and The Midnight Hour) is a searing depiction of domestic abuse including coercive control tactics that the corrupt Alpha male of Kitty’s pack uses on her and other females – essentially dictating their lives as well as raping them when he feels like it. As the series progresses, Kitty goes on to leave the pack, try to help another subordinate female wolf leave, and eventually wrest control of the pack from him. Also notable is Kitty’s eventual choice of romantic partner, which sees her essentially opt to have a healthy relationship based on mutual respect and equality.

Book Selection #15: The Night Child (2018) by Anna Quinn

A psychological tale about a school teacher who starts seeing terrifying visions of a child, The Night Child starts as something of a thriller but as protagonist Nora Brown seeks medical help, she soon discovers that the apparition may be related to repressed childhood trauma. A debut novel by Anna Quinn, this story examines how the impact of childhood trauma lasts into adulthood. As a lot of the story unfolds in the therapist’s office, the fragility and strength of the mind and the importance of mental health for survivors is a strong theme. This novel may be emotionally challenging to read but it does offer hope in the form of the protagonist’s resilience and determination to save herself.

Book Selection #16: When I Hit You or, A Portrait of the Author as a Young Wife (2018) by Meena Kandasamy

Based on the author’s own experience of marriage, this first-person narrative tells the story of a newly-wed writer experiencing rapid social isolation and extreme violence at her husband’s hands. The narrator, a middle-class and educated Tamil woman, points out that she does not experience stereotypical Indian dramas of oppression but rather the villain is an educated and cultured man she married for love. A gripping and scathing exploration of insidious abuse, gender and societal expectations, and perpetuated toxic masculinity, it is also a story of a woman refusing to be silenced.

 

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The top picture is a Creative Commons image :

Book Cover Credits 

  1. Asking For It – From “Asking For It” (Goodreads)
  2. A Thousand Splendid Suns – From “A Thousand Splendid Suns” (Goodreads)
  3. Desert Flower – From “Desert Flower” (Goodreads)
  4. I Am Vidya: A Transgender’s Journey – From “I Am Vidya: A Transgender’s Journey” (Goodreads)
  5. Lake Silence – Courtesy of Ace, an imprint of Penguin Random House
  6. Mommy’s Black Eye – From “Mommy’s Black Eye” (Goodreads)
  7. Practical Magic – Courtesy of Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House
  8. Rape: A Love Story – From “Rape: A Love Story” (Amazon.com)
  9. Room – From “Room” (Amazon.com)
  10. Set The Night On Fire – From jenniferbernard.net
  11. Simply Irresistible – From “Simply Irresistible” (Goodreads)
  12. Cry Wolf – Courtesy of Ace, an imprint of Penguin Random House
  13. Naked in Death – From “Naked In Death” (Amazon.co.uk)
  14. Kitty Saves The World – Courtesy of Carrie Vaughn
  15. The Night Child – From “The Night Child” (Goodreads)
  16. When I Hit You or, A Portrait of the Author as a Young Wife – From “When I Hit You” (Amazon)

16 Celebrities Who Support The Cause to End Violence Against Women

Ending violence against women isn’t the most “cuddly” of campaigns because to support and advance this cause is to face and acknowledge the ugly side of humanity. Indeed, the wall of silence and taboo still surrounding violence against women and the sheer scale of this most widespread of human rights issues often become an obstacle that prevents ordinary people, as well as celebrities, from getting actively involved with the cause.

The 16 celebrities who have made our list have overcome that obstacle with gusto, and have shown dedication, commitment and energy in the campaign to end violence against women, for good. All 16 celebrities have used their fame, influence and fund raising capacity in a positive way- and our blog post today goes some way to show our thanks for their efforts. Continue reading

16 Online Resources for Escaping/Healing from Violence Against Women

Some of the most difficult – and often, most dangerous – part of the work done by activists, organisations, grassroots groups and individuals for the cause to prevent and stop Violence Against Women (VAW) is helping women to escape and heal from the violence they have experienced. In cases where gender-based violence takes the form of domestic violence or culturally sanctioned ritual violence such as Female Genital Mutilation, an additional difficulty lies in getting women and girls to take steps to get or accept help to escape the violence being done to them.

In today’s 16 for 16 blog entry, The Pixel Project presents 16 resources for women wanting to get help escaping or healing from various forms of VAW as well as those who wish to understand why and how a particular form of VAW occurs in order to successfully help the women and girls who need it.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources but it is a good starting point. To access the resource for each type of violence just click the hyperlink.

It’s time to stop violence against women. Together.

Edited and introduced by Regina Yau; Research and summaries by Eliska Hahn. Continue reading

10 Silver Lining Stories on Mother’s Day

Today we feature a special Silver Lining post to share ten uplifting stories about using Mother’s Day as a catalyst for action on the issue of violence against women.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 1: Actor Javier Bardem talks about violence against women in the Congo, where rates of sexual violence against women and girls are the highest in the world. In a PSA for Raise Hope for Congo, Mr. Bardem asks people, on Mother’s Day, to give mothers and daughters in the Congo a chance for peace.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 2: Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times about people who have chosen to “commemorate motherhood by saving the lives of mothers halfway around the world.” His story focuses on Edna, a nurse and midwife in Somalia who provides family planning services and works to end female genital mutilation.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 3: Florence Crittenton Programmes in the U.S. state of South Carolina has started an interesting initiative. Called “Adopt a Mom to Honour a Mom,” the programme enables donors to sponsor a young mom to help end the destructive cycle of violence and poverty.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 4: The idea of a creating a Mother’s Day gift with meaning is behind this idea from Inspired Gift Giving: small cello bags filled with toiletries, cosmetics, or fragrance for the women in a shelter. Full details are here, in a post called Honour Victims of Domestic Violence This Mother’s Day.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 5: A mobile spa in the U.S. state of Michigan is also hoping to pamper women in a local shelter. The Lavender Mobile Spa will spend Mother’s Day weekend at HAVEN, a centre that counsels victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 6: In Rhode Island, also in the U.S., the Domestic Violence Resource Center of South County holds a Mother’s Day Garden Campaign to raise money for victims of domestic violence. The campaign sells cards and put out a call to local artists for a design that signifies the theme of “new beginning.” The winning design was submitted by an artist who is an abuse survivor herself.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 7: Still on the theme of gifts, middle school students in the American city of Stamford, CT are teaming up with a moving company in the Movers for Moms programme. The programme collects everyday necessities, such as toiletries, soaps, lotions and baby formula, and donates them to local shelters.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 8: A consortium of domestic violence activists in San Francisco, CA held a Mother’s Day press conference on May 5 to ensure that funding for their services is maintained despite the city’s budget deficit. They noted that because of their work, domestic violence homicides are down 80%!

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 9: The Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence in Corvallis, OR held an upbeat event on May 7. Called  the Mother’s Day Run/Walk for Safe Families, the event included a 5K run/walk and a Family Fun Fair. Funds raised help sustain the organisation’s shelter, advocacy services and education programme.

Mother’s Day Silver Lining Story 10: Lastly, a lovely fundraising and awareness-raising idea from a group of women’s shelters in Ontario, Canada. The annual Daisy of Hope campaign runs during the month of May. The campaign sells daisy pins as part of a “province-wide public awareness and fund raising initiative aimed at ending the vicious cycle of domestic abuse and promoting violence-free living.”

We wish a mothers everywhere a happy and peaceful Mother’s Day full of love and laughter!

 

Activism 101: 10 Alternatives to Flowers for Mother’s Day

With Mothering Sunday just around the corner, florists are doing roaring business, restaurants are booked solid and chocolates are flying off the shelves.

Our mothers – and mother figures – are very lucky indeed… and we are lucky to have them in our lives, be they our biological mother, adopted mother, foster mother, grandmother, godmother and even aunts.

For those searching for an alternative to the flowers, chocolate and meal-out options, or perhaps for those who are searching for a meaningful way to commemorate Mother’s Day while supporting the cause to end violence against women, here are 10 alternatives to the traditional gifts:

Alternative to Flowers 1: Volunteer together! If your mom is active in your community – or even if she is not – it’s worth suggesting to her that the two of you could spend Mother’s Day morning volunteering at your local women’s shelter or rape crisis centre to help bring some joy to the mothers and children there. Have a nice lunch or dinner together afterwards.

Alternative to Flowers 2: Spread  Some Sweetness. If you and your mom enjoy baking, consider baking a batch of cookies, muffins, brownies, pies, cake and/or other sweet treats for the women and children at your local women’s shelter. Deliver it to the shelter in person and ask to help distribute it to the women and children. Share the experience of spreading smiles amongst mothers and their kids who have not had a reason to smile in a very long time.

Alternative to Flowers 3: Become Patrons. Get together with your mom to select a anti-Violence Against Women nonprofit/charity which you can jointly support for one whole year. Support can come in the form of volunteering together for a year, making recurring small donations to them or taking part in their campaigns.

Alternative to Flowers 4: Share the Day. If you are taking your mom out for a Mother’s Day meal and you know a woman who is suffering from domestic violence or recovering from rape, consider inviting her along and treating her to a meal. This may be the only respite she can get and it’s an understated way to show that you both care if you feel uncomfortable about talking about it.

Alternative to Flowers 5: Smart Shopping. If you prefer to buy your mother a beautiful gift, consider buying products from companies, co-ops and non-profits whose products and merchandise are sold to raise funds to support the end to violence against women. Some recommendations: Emerge Global has a jewellery range made by sexual abuse survivors in Sri Lanka. If your mom prefers perfumes etc, Avon is one of the few companies whose charitable foundation focuses on ending domestic violence.

Alternative to Flowers 6: Get Reading! If your mom is an avid reader, consider getting her a book (or e-book if she has an e-Reader) about violence against women. Some recommendations: Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky, Lisa Shannon’s A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to be a Woman and Nujood Ali’s I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced.

Alternative to Flowers 7: Get Watching! If your mom is a movie fan/film buff, consider getting her a movie which includes themes about violence against women as a thoughtful Mother’s Day gift. The movie need not be a no-holds-barred documentary, but it could be something ultimately uplifting that both of you could watch together and talk about later on. Some recommendations: Practical Magic weaves themes of dating violence into a magical settingWhat’s Love Got To Do With It showcases Tina Turner’s journey from an abused wife to independent superstar. If your mom is a documentary fan, try Sin by Silence by Olivia Klaus.

Alternative to Flowers 8: Get writing! If you’re a regular blogger with an interest in women’s issues including violence against women, take up the challenge of writing a thoughtful Mother’s Day blog post dedicated to your mom while raising awareness about violence against women. Post it. Share it. Submit it for a Mother’s Day blog carnival. Talk about it with your mom.

Alternative to Flowers 9: The YouTube Declaration. Get your digital recording camera out to record a YouTube declaration against violence against women dedicated to your mom. Submit it to The Pixel Project’s Wall of Support campaign and share the YouTube link with your mom.

Alternative to Flowers 10: Donate in Her Name. Make a small donation to a charity/nonprofit organisation working to end violence against women of your mom’s choice in her name. Send a cheque to your local anti-Violence Against Women nonprofit. Alternatively, go digital by donating to online fundraisers such as our Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign. A little as US$5.00 can buy a child in Women’s Aid Organisation’s refuge two nutritious hot meals per day or provide a free NCADV handbook for U.S. domestic violence survivors to help them get back on their feet again.

– Regina Yau, Founder and President, The Pixel Project

The Pixel Project Op-Ed: World Human Rights Day – The Importance of Hope

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up.” – Annie Lamott

Today is World Human Rights Day and I find myself smiling and feeling inspired by this short video by The Girl Effect:

Some of the more cynical amongst us might think that this video, while all snazzy visuals and catchy tunes, is unrealistic because it makes the solution to the far-reaching and complicated impact of poverty on girls seem so simple.

It is because it is a common sense solution that has been staring us in our faces.

It isn’t because even the most obvious solutions take a lot more time and effort than we think.

When it comes to violence against women, which has long been a widespread, deep-seated, and chronic human rights violation that is culturally and socially sanctioned to various degrees in communities worldwide, it is important to remember this:

That change and the solutions for change may take more time and effort that our current Instant Gratification tendencies would like.

You can’t have change appear overnight, just because we snap our fingers, demanding for it NOW. Not the real long-lasting change that is needed to truly end violence against women. Changing the world – to rid it of violence against women – is a long hard journey where we have to face up to some of the worst atrocities and the ugliness of humanity, no doubt about it.

Yet we mustn’t let all that sour us on humanity and embitter us about the world to the point where we attack potential but non-traditional allies (men, religious leaders) or succumb to Ostrich Syndrome (i.e. burying one’s head in the sand, hoping that ignoring the violence will make it go away).

Instead, we should, as Annie Lamott points out: wait and watch and work and never give up.

Hope is needed more than ever in a cause as difficult as the cause to end violence against women in our communities and across the world.  If we do not hope or see any hope for humanity, we will be admitting defeat and we cannot let cynicism and jadedness take us down and paralyse us with the finger-pointing and Eeyore pessimism that comes with it.

With hope, we will be able to take action and to keep ourselves motivated no matter what we have to face to end violence against women.

With hope, we will be able to see the opportunities and possibilities that will give us more creative solutions and momentum for ending violence against women wherever we are in the world.

With hope, even if we know that the change we seek will not come in our lifetime, we know that we will create enough momentum and enough legacy so it will become the reality for future generations.

I know this much is true because whenever I encounter anyone who tells me that violence against women is too intractable a problem to solve, here is the story I tell them:

The women on both sides of my family went from bound feet to Rhodes scholar in 4 generations. It took roughly one whole century for us to get to where we are but we did it because the women who came before me refused to give up hope:

My paternal great-grandmother’s feet were halfway through the foot-binding process when the practice was made taboo for good and she ensured that my paternal grandmother was educated.

My maternal grandmother was illiterate and survived over half a century of an abusive marriage but she ensured that my mother and her sisters all finished high school. My mother in turn ensured that I went much further than her and I did – I graduated from Oxford University about 100 years after my great-grandmother’s feet were still being bound.

So don’t tell me we can’t end violence against women. The women on both sides of my family have proven that when there is hope and determination, we can ensure that our daughters do not suffer the same fate that we do.

And I come from one of the most misogynistic and patriarchal cultures in the world – Chinese culture.

I am determined to carry this legacy of hope, determination and strength forward. The positive changes to the status of women that I have witnessed in my own family is what I am determined to achieve when I started The Pixel Project – that the next generation of little girls (and the generation after them) will eventually never suffer violence just because they were born female.

Yes, those changes are not perfect – my family still suffers from the trickle-down effect of the violence that came before and we still struggle with cultural traditions when it comes to men’s attitudes towards women – but it is real, solid change and it is progress.

So here I am, on World Human Rights Day, sending out this message of hope and hoping that you will join in the fight to end violence against women instead of succumbing to bitterness, cynicism and apathy.

Solutions and ideas don’t run by themselves – they need us to make them a reality and to make them work for the 1 in 3 women and girls worldwide who face gender-based violence in their lifetimes.

After all, if WE don’t step up, who will?

It truly is time to stop violence against women. Together.

Regina Yau, Founder and President, The Pixel Project

Remembering the Montréal Massacre

Twenty-one years ago today, a lone gunman who blamed feminists for ruining his life walked into Ecole Polytechnique in Montréal and killed fourteen women. Two years later, the federal government of Canada established December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

On the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy last year, a writer for The Globe and Mail, a major paper in Canada, stated that women in Canada are doing well, especially compared to women in other parts of the world, and that we in Canada should just “get a grip and move on.”

Her article stung me then and still does. It is true that many women in Canada have a good life, and that we have opportunities here that women around the world do not. But that does not mean that we can simply get a grip and move on from the events of December 6, 1989.

The National Day of Remembrance is not about a single incident of misogyny and violence. It is about remembering the women whose stories do not make headlines. Here are some numbers from Canada that reflect the reality for those women:

  • 51% of Canadian women have had at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16. http://ow.ly/3cXDH
  • Over 86% of all criminal sexual assaults in Canada are against women. http://ow.ly/3cXUO
  • Every minute of every day, a Canadian woman or child is being sexually assaulted. http://ow.ly/3cXDH
  • 11% (1.4 million) Cdn. women 15 & older have been stalked in a way that made them fear for their safety. (http://ow.ly/3cXLw
  • 1 to 2 women are murdered by a current or former partner each week in Canada. http://ow.ly/3cXDH
  • Domestic violence—which is just one of many ways that violence against women is manifested—has a far more serious impact on women than men. Women are 2 times more likely to be injured than men, six times more likely to need medical attention than men, five times more likely to be hospitalised than men, and twice as likely to report ongoing assaults (ten or more) than men. http://ow.ly/3cYdK
  • Yet women are reluctant to report the crimes against them. Only 36% of female victims of spousal violence and less than 10% of victims of sexual assault reported crimes to the police in 2004. Why? Because they are afraid of the offender, ashamed, and embarrassed. http://ow.ly/3cXDH

Get a grip and move on? Is that an appropriate response to these women? No, it is not. The National Day of Remembrance is a chance to raise awareness about the many women in Canada and around the world who continue to suffer from gender-based violence. It is one of the only times in a calendar year that we actually talk about violence against women, an issue that is too often swept under the rug. So let’s remember. And let’s act so that maybe, one day, we will be able to move on.

Crystal Smith, Blog Editor, The Pixel Project

It’s Not Just Domestic Violence: The Beginner’s Guide to 16 Types of Violence Against Women

“Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions” – United Nations Development Fund for Women

Courtesy and copyright of Jillian Edelstein (www.jillianedelstein.co.uk)

There are many reasons why Violence Against Women is possibly the most widespread and intractable human rights violations in human history: It is embedded in social structures; It is part of cultural customs; It is due to gender inequality; It is due to gender-based economic inequality; It is due to patriarchal strictures… the list of factors goes on and on and many have expounded on it.

Yet even while it is so entrenched an issue, many people have problems recognising gender-based violence even when they are come face-to-face with it simply because:

  • It has become normalised or institutionalised as part of cultural practices; or
  • It has become so taboo that it is glossed over as a non-issue or swept under a rug too controversial an issue to discuss; or
  • It has become acceptable social or relationship behaviour.

Even if people do face up to gender-based violence as an issue, they might not realise the scale of the violence because, more often than not, they conflate violence against women with the particular type of gender-based violence that they are familiar with.  A typical example is how many people equate domestic violence with violence against women when domestic violence is actually a type of violence against women.

To effectively combat violence against women wherever it happens , we believe that people need to be aware of the full range of these human rights violations in its many forms so they can prevent, stop and end it in whatever guise it appears. While gender-based violence is undoubtedly a complicated issue, we all have to begin understanding the full extent of this worldwide atrocity.

In honour of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, The Pixel Project presents a quick list of 16 major types of violence against women. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a start. To learn about each type of violence in more detail, click on the hyperlinked terms.

Type 1: Domestic violence. Also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse or intimate partner violence. Broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by a partner in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, friends or cohabitation.Domestic violence takes many forms including physical aggression; sexual abuse including incest and marital rape; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation.

Type 2: Rape. Rape, in a nutshell, is any form of sexual intercourse without consent. It doesn’t have to involve penetration. As long as you say no, it’s rape. Even if you’re in a position where you can’t say no (like being unconscious, for example, or blackmailed), it’s rape.

Type 3: Rape as a Weapon of War. When part of a widespread and systematic practice, rape and sexual slavery are recognized as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Rape is also recognised as an element of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted ethnic group. Examples of rape as a weapon of war include the Rape of Nanking, the ongoing mass rapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mass rape of thousands of women during the Serb-Bosnian war.

Type 4: Sexual Assault. Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person and are most frequently by a man on a woman. While sexual assaults are associated with the crime of rape, it also covers assaults which would not be considered rape. Sexual assault may include rape, forced vaginal, anal or oral penetration, forced sexual intercourse, inappropriate touching, forced kissing,child sexual abuse, or the torture of the victim in a sexual manner.

Type 5: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/FGC). Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting (FGC), refers to the cutting away of part or all of a girl’s external genitalia for cultural or non-medical reasons. Although a worldwide practice, it is most prevalent amongst certain African, Middle Eastern and Asian communities. FGM is most commonly performed on girls aged between four to 14—usually without their consent.

Type 6: Honour Killing. An honour killing (also called a customary killing) happens when a woman is murdered by a family member out of the belief or suspicion that the victim has brought shame to the family, clan or community. Murdering the person is believed to salvage the family’s honour.

Type 7: Forced Marriage. In a forced marriage, the bride is forced into a marriage against their will. They may be physically and/or emotionally threatened, usually by their families, or tricked into going abroad where they find themselves stranded without support or money, and with someone who demands their right of marriage.

Type 8: Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is what slavery, as a business, looks like in the 21st century. It describes the procurement of people against their will through force or deception, to be transported, sold and exploited for everything from forced prostitution to slave labour to human sacrifice. Trafficking victims are stripped of their basic human rights and treated as commodity.

Type 9: Bride Trafficking. In countries like Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan, a phenomenon has emerged where men who have trouble finding wives resort to buying one from abroad. This has led to the growing business of bride trafficking. Immigrant spouses come from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and North Korea. Trafficked brides face a number of risks including domestic violence and forced prostitution.

Type 10: Breast Ironing. Breast ironing is the pounding and massaging of a pubescent girl’s breasts using heated objects, in an attempt to make them stop developing or disappear. It is typically carried out by the girl’s mother in an attempt to protect the girl from sexual harassment and rape, to prevent early pregnancy that would tarnish the family name, or to allow the girl to pursue education rather than be forced into early marriage. It is mostly practiced in parts of Cameroon, where boys and men may think that girls whose breasts have begun to grow are ripe for sex.

Type 11: Foot Binding. Foot binding was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China, beginning in the 10th century and ending in the first half of 20th century. Binding the feet involved folding the toes back against the sole of the foot and breaking the arch of the foot to achieve impossibly tiny feet. Foot binding could lead to serious infections, possibly gangrene, and was generally painful for life. This is the only form of violence against women that has been successfully abolished.

Type 12: Stalking. Stalking can be defined as the willful and repeated following, watching, and/or harassing of someone, usually in order to force a relationship unto that person. Although stalking is illegal, stalking behaviours such as gathering information, calling, sending gifts, emailing or instant messaging are legal. Such actions can become abusive when frequently repeated over time. The rise of the Internet has led to cyberstalking—the use of technology to pursue, harass and stalk victims. Cyberstalkers target their victims through chat rooms, message boards, discussion forums, and email.

Type 13: Eve Teasing. Eve teasing is a euphemism used in India and sometimes Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men, with Eve being a reference to the biblical Eve. it is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in severity from sexually suggestive remarks, brushing in public places, catcalls, to outright groping. Eve-teasing has been a notoriously difficult crime to prove, as perpetrators often devise ingenious ways to attack women.

Type 14: Street Harassment. 80% to 100% of women worldwide face at least occasional unwanted, harassing attention in public places from men they do not know just because they’re female. This harassment and an underlying fear of sexual assault causes women and girls to be in public less often than they would otherwise and to be on guard while there, especially when they are alone or it is night. Men’s harassment of women because of their gender is rarely seen as socially unacceptable. Instead it is portrayed as complimentary, “only” a trivial annoyance, a joke, or women’s fault based on their clothes.

Type 15: Prostitution. Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. Today, human trafficking is primarily for prostituting women and children. It is described as “the largest slave trade in history” and is the fastest growing form of contemporary slavery. It is also the fastest growing criminal industry, set to outgrow drug trafficking. Prostitutes often face violence including rape and murder.

Type 16: Stoning. is a form of capital punishment whereby a group throws stones at a person until the person dies. No individual among the group can be identified as the one who kills the subject. Stoning is slower than other forms of execution, and hence is a form of execution by torture. The most high profile cases in recent years all involved women including Amina Lawal (Nigeria) and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (Iran).

– Regina Yau, Founder and President, The Pixel Project

Activism 101: 16 Ways to Volunteer for the Cause to End Violence Against Women

As a nonprofit that is completely staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers, The Pixel Project is profoundly grateful for the outpouring of support, skills and pro bono services that our people put to work for the cause to end violence against women (VAW).

By working together even though we are scattered over 4 continents, 12 timezones and 15 cities (and counting), we were able to mount campaign after campaign as a virtual team; And as we count down to the launch of our Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign on World Human Rights Day (10 December 2010) and our 2nd anniversary as an organisation on 7 January 2011, we are also counting our blessings that come in the form of volunteers who have stuck with us and faithfully carried out their roles, some for more than 18 months to date.

While we wrote about 16 ways to take that first step to help the cause, 16 ways to speak out against VAW and 16 ideas for online campaigning, today’s blog post is in honour of the fantastic volunteers who have toiled tirelessly with us on the long road to the end of VAW:

Today, we bring you 16 ways to volunteer for the cause to end VAW.

But first, for first-time volunteers – a few tips about volunteering for the VAW cause:

Tip 1: Honour Your Promises. Be realistic about what you can or cannot offer any nonprofit you choose to volunteer with and be clear about it to manage expectations. The worst thing you can do is overpromise a nonprofit and then go AWOL, leaving them, fellow activists, victims and survivors dangling when they need your help the most.  In the case of the cause to end violence against women, the stakes are higher than most because resources that don’t appear may cost someone her life.

Tip 2: Look at your skills and find a match. Volunteering for the cause to end violence against women is not confined to working the helplines at rape crisis centres or helping out at battered women’s shelters. There are plenty of different roles and avenues where you can leverage your personal and professional skills to help the cause. We have certainly found that volunteers that work in roles that match their skills are happier in the long run. For example, our Copywriting and Editorial team are staffed with professional copywriters who happily put their writing skills to work for our campaigns.

Tip 3: Treat your volunteer work as a job. Volunteering is a commitment. Only volunteer if you genuinely have the time and energy to spare. If you wouldn’t inexplicably disappear from your paid job whenever you wish, don’t do that for your volunteer commitments.  Period.

Tip 4: Be patient. The staff or core teams of nonprofits of any size or stripe are often extremely overstretched. For the cause to end violence against women in particular – we are dealing with violence doesn’t stop for anything: not for national holidays, not weekends, not even during the wee hours of the morning when everyone is supposed to be asleep.  So if the staff are slow in sending feedback or getting back to you on anything, be patient and send reminders. Better still – volunteer to pitch in to help alleviate their workload.

Still interested in volunteering for the cause to end violence against women? Read on for the 16 ways to volunteer for the cause:

Opportunity 1: Seasonal volunteering. Not enough time or energy for an ongoing volunteer gig? Consider an annual volunteer session at your local battered women’s shelter or rape crisis centre over the Christmas-New Year period. Many are on skeleton staff then and most volunteers would be away for the holidays.

Opportunity 2: The company-nonprofit match. If you work for a company that encourages employees to volunteer, it may be worthwhile proposing to management that a local VAW nonprofit working be added to their roster of nonprofit partners. Then round up your co-workers and get volunteering on weekends!

Opportunity 3: Polish those skills. For those who are currently unemployed, contact your local VAW nonprofit to check for volunteer openings or offer to put your professional skills at their service be it marketing, accounting, event organising, administration etc. Volunteering is one of the best ways to keep your skills sharp.

Opportunity 4: Get virtual. With the internet being ever more ubiquitous these days, virtual volunteering whereby people volunteer online for social media, marketing, professional and advocacy roles are increasingly popular. Any job or skill that lends itself to telecommunity/workshifting would fit in with virtual volunteering. Not sure where to find virtual volunteer opportunities? The Pixel Project is completely run by virtual volunteers. Check out our programmes!

Opportunity 5: Get with the grunt work. Be prepared to be roped in to help with events such as marches, candlelight vigils and charity dinners. So be ready to put in the legwork and to help with hauling stuff about.

Opportunity 6: Put it on your credit. Your class credit, that is. If you are a college/university student, find out if you can get class credit on an internship with a VAW nonprofit. If it’s all systems go, then contact your nearest VAW nonprofit with a letter from your university and arrange to start volunteering.

Opportunity 7: Watch the Dates. Many VAW nonprofits put on special campaigns to coincide with active activism periods marked by annual event dates connected to the cause such as International Women’s Day (8 March) , Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October) and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (25 November – 10 December). Be aware of these dates and approach your local VAW nonprofit to offer to work on projects they have planned for those dates.

Opportunity 8: Start small. If you can only spare less than 3 hours per week for volunteering, consider negotiating with your local VAW nonprofit for just one weekend shift that you can honour weekly or help them with specific and simple tasks that only take up the amount of time you have available.

Opportunity 9: Rally the herd. If you are the sociable type, it’s worth rounding up a few friends who are also interested in helping the VAW cause and pooling your hours to work together as a team on projects for your local VAW nonprofit. Or you could propose a volunteer project to the nonprofit and work with your group and the nonprofit to make it a success.

Opportunity 10: Be flexible. Many VAW nonprofits are horribly short-staffed and so most staff multitask and also take on responsibilities beyond their job scope. Think of it the same way with your volunteer gig – you might have signed up to help with admin work but also be prepared to help out at events, calls to the media etc. Think of it as expanding your skills set.

Opportunity 11: Use your sabbatical. If you work for a company or organisation that allows staff to take short sabbaticals, consider devoting your sabbatical to volunteer work with your chosen VAW nonprofit.  This may help you get a more fulfilling volunteer experience as you will be able to focus on your volunteer work rather than balancing it with the demands of your normal job.

Opportunity 12: Get Problem-solving. Volunteer opportunities are not always advertised. If you hear of your local VAW nonprofit having a need that needs filling such as a funding shortfall or losing staff, step up to volunteer your help with addressing their problem.

Opportunity 13: Ditch the chequebook. Are you a small or medium-sized business owner? Start a volunteer programme with your local VAW nonprofit for your staff to participate in and ensure that you work with the nonprofit to jointly administer the programme. After all, a helping hand is oftentimes more valuable than just a cheque.

Opportunity 14: Join a volunteer organisation. Nonprofit volunteer organisations such as Soroptimist International, Rotary Club and Lion’s Club as well as various local women’s organisations are a way to get a structured volunteer experience where you can volunteer with a range of nonprofits and projects benefiting the VAW cause.

Opportunity 15: Bridge It. Do you have a fat rolodex? Does your company have products and resources that a nonprofit would welcome? Do you know where to get the best deals? Volunteer to act as a bridge between the nonprofit and others who can help them with resources, funding etc. Leverage your networks for the greater good!

Opportunity 16: Weekends, weekends. Too stretched during the week to spare any time to volunteer? Consider setting time on the weekend to help your local VAW nonprofits, be it taking a helpline shift at the rape crisis centre or helping with home repairs at the battered women’s shelter.

These are just some of the ways you can volunteer to help the VAW cause – for more ideas, look to websites such as Ammado, Idealist.org and TakingITGlobal where there are thriving communities of volunteers who work on any number of creative nonprofit projects.

What are you waiting for? Get volunteering because it truly is time to stop violence against women. Together.

– Regina Yau, Founder and President, The Pixel Project