Silence

There's a beatiful book, written by a woman doctor, entitled "Trauma and Recovery: the aftermath of violence- from domestic abuse to political terror." Although to be traumatized is not really a beautiful experience.

I though I'd write about it because as a woman you can't help thinking about the inequality in this world. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, our lifespan is reduced by 5% for every violence that we experience. And violence does not only refer to the physical abuse, but the verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual and even socioeconomic type of violence that we can think of. Unfortunately, those violated of their rights are silenced. But must we? Or if we already are, must this continue? Here's something to think about and which I'm quoting from that book:

"In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrator's first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end, he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon herself; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail."

Sounds sickening? Yes. But there's a way out. Shout! And create noise - especially collective noise.