Speech - Abegail e
Speech - Abegail e
Speech - Abegail e
children’s situation in the past and nowadays? Let me begin with a short story. I was
born in simple living, in my community I observed so far less record of violence and
abuses against women and children ,but I heard stories from the past about a woman
experience that brought her a lifetime suffering due to the psychological trauma
because of his abusive and drunker husband. That man was said to carry a machete
and when he was drunk he used his machete to scare her family especially her wife and
to every houses, it happen every time he was drunks for years. It might sounds not
terrible to you? But don’t you know how his actions affect that woman life up to this day.
She was scared to go out or to travel and she was haunted and lured to get suicide by a
voice that speaks to her. This is just one of the millions horrifying stories that every
woman wanted to be outspoken, that many women out there wanted to be heard.
As I also read some stories I ask myself why? Why some women suffer such devilish
acts and some women out there put other women down. Some victims tried to speak for
their self but they were mocked by a fellow woman. We can imagine a scenario of a
mother letting his son abused his wife, or a women become a punching bag of his
husband and their neighbor knows it but they keep distance to extend a help and an
instances that an adopted child was punish horribly by his parent and he dies, that child
innocent soul was grieving for justice. I just want to show that there are people who hide
behind the curtains and do nothing and that I realized that we all live in fear.
One third of women around the world, it is about 736 million women at the aged of 15-
30 have been subjected to intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or
both at least once in their life, imagine that numbers . Globally, it is estimated that up
to 1 billion children aged 2–17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional
violence or neglect in the past year. Experiencing violence in childhood impacts lifelong
health and well-being.
I asked you a while ago if there is any changes in women and children situation from
the past compare today, and the answer is no, it is actually getting worst everyday there
are new cases of abuse reported but there are million more cases that are were not
reported by the victims because of fear. Do they deserve it? It’s a big no, no one has the
right to say it because no one knows a person story unless she/he speaks for it.
We all know that we have to do much more to respond to the cries for
justice of women and children who have suffered violence. We have to
do much more to end these horrible abuses and the impunity that allows
these human rights violations to continue.
I think we can all agree that the time for complacency is long gone, has
passed and belongs to another era. The silence on violence against
women and children has been broken and now. Now is the time for
stronger action.
It is time for action when up to 70 per cent of women in some countries
face physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime.
When one in three girls in developing countries is likely to be married as
a child bride; when some 140 million girls and women have suffered
female genital mutilation; when millions of women and girls are
trafficked in modern-day slavery; and when women’s bodies are a
battleground and rape is used as a tactic of war – it is time for action.
This violence against women and children has tremendous costs to
communities, nations and societies—for public well-being, health and
safety, and for school achievement, productivity, law enforcement, and
public programmes and budgets.
If left unaddressed, these human rights violations pose serious
consequences for current and future generations and for efforts to
ensure peace and security, to reduce poverty and to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals and the next generation of development
goals we are discussing .
The effects of violence can remain with women and children for a
lifetime, and can pass from one generation to another. Studies show
that children who have witnessed, or been subjected to, violence are
more likely to become victims or abusers themselves.
Violence against women and girls is an extreme manifestation of gender
inequality and systemic gender-based discrimination. The right of
women and children to live free of violence depends on the protection of
their human rights and a strong chain of justice.
Countries that enact and enforce laws on violence against women have
less gender-based violence. Today 160 countries have laws to address
violence against women. However, in too many cases enforcement is
lacking.
For an effective response to this violence, different sectors in society
must work together.
A rape survivor must have rapid access to a health clinic that can
administer emergency medical care, including treatment to prevent HIV
and unintended pregnancies and counseling.
A woman who is beaten by her husband must have someplace to go
with her children to enjoy safety, sanity and shelter.
A victim of violence must have confidence that when she files a police
report, she will receive justice and the perpetrator will be punished.
And an adolescent boy in school who learns about health and sexuality
must be taught that coercion, violence and discrimination against girls
are unacceptable.
I can tell you that momentum is gathering, awareness is rising and I
truly believe that long-standing indifference to violence against women
and children is declining.
We must work together to seize the moment and move quickly so that
the momentum is not lost.