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Volume 31- 14 October, 2014 Dear Parents and Students This year’s Day of the Girl (11 October) theme is “Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence”. On Saturday the UN celebrated this day globally with the launch of the HeforShe campaign. I publish the following information provided to us by Sr Libby Rogerson IBVM, who holds the position as the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Coordinator for Loreto Australia and South East Asia. “Violence is an all too frequent accompaniment to girls reaching adolescence. A recent UN report noted that violence can begin early in girls’ lives but the gender dimensions of violence and abuse – physical, sexual, psychological – are more pronounced in adolescence. More than half of the world’s sexual assaults are against girls of 15 and under. Child marriages are likely to lead to violence, and currently, 53 countries have no legal protection for women against domestic violence. There is no place for the voices of abused girls to be heard. Female genital mutilation, although slowly declining, is a cruel introduction to adolescence, while honor killings and acid attacks are the frequent response to girls who push against the barriers of ignorance and tradition. Rape has become a weapon of war and the victims of rape, branded “unclean”, are exiled and ostracized by their communities. While some of this is largely unfamiliar to Australians it is important to note a recent research finding indicating Indigenous girls across the globe have a greater risk of experiencing violence due to the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination they face. For women to be empowered, education, in its various forms, is the way to overcome the many barriers which limit their freedom. By 2015, 64% of the world’s illiterate population will be female. Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education rights campaigner, shot by the Taliban, says that Education is the only solution. Nothing, no political indifference, no government inaction, no intimidation, no threats, no assassin’s bullets should ever deny the right of every single child to be able to go to school. Educated women are: more likely to marry later, less likely to suffer domestic violence, more likely to have higher incomes and live in better housing with healthier families. Narau, a 15 year old Tanzanian school girl, says “I’m not married but if it wasn’t for school, I would be married and have children by now”. So what is to be done? Launching the “HeforShe” campaign, the UN Women Executive Director, Phumizle Mlambo-Ngcuka, spoke of the pandemic of violence directed against women and called on men and boys to support the campaign. Australia is not immune to this pandemic as last year half a million women reported physical and sexual violence and we know it is the most under reported of all crimes. As educators, parents and supporters of the girl child, we must continue to help our fathers, brothers, sons and students learn non-violent means of solving disputes and urge them to be pro-active on behalf of women and girls in the workplace, in school and in social situations. Most of all, we must all work to enable girls to have a safe place where their confident, fearless voices will be heard.” Sr Libby also draws our attention to the fact that this week is Anti-Poverty Week. Some interesting facts:
Justice
Freedom
SINCERITY
Verity
Felicity