Cover image via One Billion Rising
Here's a quick look on women exploitation around the world:
— 1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence
— over 60 million girls worldwide become child brides before age 18
— Sex trafficking of women and children is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world
Image via UN Women
**Women across the world are subjected to physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence, regardless of their income, age or education** which can lead to long-term physical, mental and emotional health problems.
**In the most extreme cases, violence against women can lead to death**; around two thirds of victims of intimate partner or family-related homicides are women, according to UN Women's [statistics] (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/Ch6_VaW_info.pdf).
Image via One Billion Rising
To call for a radical shift in consciousness, Filipinas from different parts of the Philippines gathered on Tuesday to launch the 4th year of 'One Billion Rising'
One Billion Rising ([OBR] (http://www.onebillionrising.org)) is by far the world's most active feminist campaign that promotes the revolution against the violence against women around the world.
[Eve Ensler] (http://www.eveensler.org), founder of OBR and playwright of the best known play, "*The Vagina Monologues*", has been promoting the campaign worldwide and it has been active in 200 countries including Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Nepal, USA, and the Philippines.
"One Billion Rising (is) a call for the one billion women and all the men who love them to walk out of their jobs, schools, offices, homes and strike, rise and dance… **to remember their daughter's rape, to stop sex slavery, to educate young boys and girls about non-violence sexual relations**," said Ensler in an [essay] (https://www.theguardian.com/society/blog/2013/feb/14/what-is-one-billion-rising-founder-eve-ensler-explains) she wrote for The Guardian back in 2013.
Image via RFC
"Impunity is deeply entrenched because the violence we have is state and policy instigated. **Revolution is a radical change in consciousness, change in mindset.** And our message is we will not stop until we get the justice that long we've been fighting for," said theater artist, activist and global director of the One Billion Rising campaign, Monique Wilson to [Pinoy Weekly] (http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2015/02/women-to-rise-vs-violence-poverty-other-social-issues-for-this-years-one-billion-rising-for-revolution/).
Image via Irra Waddy
Image via Mon Ramirez
2013 — the year when Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) recorded a total of 5,493 rape incidents involving women and child victims just within the year.
That's approximately **ONE** reported rape incident **EVERY 96 MINUTES**.
The Center for Women's Resources (CWR), an institution advocating women empowerment since 1982, told [GMA News] (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/376614/news/specialreports/special-report-rape-in-the-philippines-numbers-reveal-disturbing-trend) that official data on rape incidents could actually be *underreported*.
"*Batay sa aming experience, ang isang nabibiktima, lalo na 'pag bata, 'di kaagad siya nagkukuwento. Lalo na 'pag tinatakot*," said CWR Executive Director Jojo Guan in an interview with GMA News Research.
"*Pina-process din muna ng isang rape victim sa sarili niya kung anong nangyari sa kaniya. At usually, ano yun, talagang depression muna. Kaya isang brave step 'pag ikaw ay nakapag-report*,"she added.
(**Based on our experience, a rape victim – more so a child rape victim – does not immediately report her ordeal, especially when she's being threatened… the rape victim tries to process what happened to her, and usually, depression sets in. Reporting the rape is already a brave step on the victim's part.**)
2013 was also the year news clutter with headlines reporting Malala Yousafzai shot for demanding girls to be educated in Afghanistan.
Image via Repeating Islands
Based on the data from the PNP-WCPC since 1999, 3 out of 4 rape victims involved child victims
Image via PNP-WCPC
"**We really need the help of all Filipinos, specifically the social media users, in promoting awareness on our women and children protection programs.**"
"We need this to effectively enforce the laws that mandate the protection of women and children from all forms of abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation and discrimination and promote their rights and access to justice," said PNP-WCPC director Chief Supt. Rosauro Acio, as quoted by [Journal Online] (http://www.journal.com.ph/news/nation/pnp-wcpc-calls-for-public-support) in 2015.
Image via One Billion Rising
Are you a victim of rape?
Do you know someone who has suffered
from physical and sexual violence?
Do you know someone who has suffered
from physical and sexual violence?
Join the **One Billion Rising Movement** to protest against the exploitation of women in the Philippines and around the world by signing up [HERE] (http://www.onebillionrising.org/sign-up/).
Image via One Billion Rising
Invite your friends to RISE, DANCE, and FIGHT
for every woman in the world on
February 2017!
for every woman in the world on
February 2017!
