"There's a war going on outside no man (woman/girl) is safe from". So angry at men who purchase women and girls, at men who hit, men who rape, men who feel like women are their property. Angry at the man who disposed of a girl I loved like she was nothing more than garbage. Angry that he just walked back into his life like nothing had happened the night he took hers. Angry thatwe're not angry enough that we live in a world where women and girls are victims of violence every minute. Angry that women and girls in the life aren't even seen as human. Angry that this could of been me and so many, many people I love. Angry that somewhere in the world, soon, this will happen again to a girl or a woman. Angry that while I've been writing this women are being beaten, sexually assaulted, and some killed - often at the hands of a man they love. Mobb Deep was half right - there is a war going on - but for women and girls its not just happening outside, its happening inside our homes, behind closed doors, on city streets, in hotels, in cars, in workplaces, in bedrooms and kitchens, in front of our children, in war zones and refugee camps, in prisons and colleges,- there is no safe zone. And no woman or girl, especially those in the life, are safe from it. I'm so tired of nursing girls wounds, of supporting female friends through their sexual abuse trauma, of hearing about one woman after another being hit, punched, kicked, choked by a man they are intimate with, tired of complaining about the constant degradation of women and girls in the media, tired of trying to explain to people how its all connected, how its all part of the continuum of women and girls being dehumanized. You start with sexism, misogyny, male privilege and acceptance of violence towards women and girls in our culture, in all cultures, and eventually you are left with a young woman's body dumped like garbage in some woods by a highway. And you're left with only a mention of an unidentified female body in the news, that doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Just one of the many faceless, nameless women and girls who are casualties of the war against them everyday. I'm so tired of crying, I just want to know when it ends. When do we all get angry and tired and disgusted enough to fight back? Don't our daughters, mothers, sisters, nieces, girlfriends, friends deserve to be safe? Don't the women and girls who aren't related to us, who might not look like us, who aren't seen as 'good' girls or 'real' victims deserve to be safe too? We didn't sign up for this war simply by virtue of being born female. We didn't enlist, we don't want to be soldiers. We just want to be safe and free. That's not asking a lot."
-Rachel Lloyd, GEMS founder
For more information about GEMS, visit their site.
