Violence Against Women

Men, Your Moment to End Gender-Based Violence Is Now

One in three women globally experiences extreme violence, often inflicted by male partners. Recent tragedies underscore how pervasive this violence is. Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei was brutally set aflame by her partner. Days earlier, the world was shocked by the brutal rape and murder of a young trainee doctor in India. The recent case in France of Dominique Pelicot who drugged, tortured and gang-raped his wife Gisele for over four decades, is horrifying.

Men, your moment is now. The world needs you to rise to the challenge of ending this violence.

Why We Need to Prioritize Pleasure-Centric Approaches in Sex Education

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With a new school year in full swing and elections around the corner, it’s only normal that we’re feeling anxious about what could happen this fall. This is especially true for young people, whose sexual and reproductive freedom hangs in the balance as we face abortion bans, attacks on trans care, birth control and more. But what’s a better antidote for anxiety, than empowering youth with pleasure-centric tools and resources that allow them to reclaim control of their bodily autonomy?

By centering peer-to-peer conversations on what makes us feel good—physically, mentally and emotionally—we establish a culture where joy, freedom and autonomy are prioritized and healthier schools, communities and relationships are created.  

‘The Chronicler, the Microphone, the Billboard’: Jessica Valenti’s ‘Abortion’ Book Arms Us to Face the Violence of Abortion Bans

In her recently released book, Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies and The Truths We Use to Win, Jessica Valenti details the future. But, her gift is not prophecy, but clarity of facts. She is clear that the question of abortion access is a question of personal autonomy. She is clear that conservatives are carefully crafting a world where women who have the audacity to want sex on their own terms must be punished by a pregnancy. She is clear that conservatives want to take personhood from a person with a uterus and assign it to the embryo or fetus within it.

As Valenti writes, it is those who would “force children to give birth … make devastated women carry dead and dying fetuses, and make women raped by men prove their attacks really happened before receiving health care” that are the problem. 

‘That’s My Dad!’: Helping Men Find Purpose in an Angry World

Young men in the U.S. are in an existential crisis, and from even the most casual browsing of their online spaces, their anger and loneliness are obvious. For these male biological challenges, we need empathy and understanding. For the social constructions of masculinity, the way we raise boys and socialize men, we need a bold, new social project. As grandiose as it may sound, men are seeking purpose. 

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy multimedia package focused on Gen Z and student voters. The future envisioned by young leaders is bright—it’s built on reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, sustainability, freedom from violence and economic opportunity. Explore essays, a brand-new podcast, videos and more from some of your most loved [or soon to be!] influencers and writers, brought to you by Ms., DoSomething, the nonprofit that helps make volunteerism “cool,” and The Anthem Awards, the social impact arm of The Webbys.)

We Heart: This Social Campaign Is Taking ‘Man or Bear’ to the Next Level

Since its original posting, the ‘man or bear’ debate has surpassed social media, reaching mainstream media outlets, personal essays and pop culture references. Now, the campaign “What We Carry” is further expanding on the conversations surrounding women’s security. It features portraits of real women holding the objects they carry every day to ensure their safety, such as pepper spray or their phones.

Not only does the campaign bring attention to and question this systemic issue of violence, it provides resources so vulnerable individuals can protect their safety. No one should have to prepare for the worst-case scenario every time they leave the house—regardless of man, bear or any other reason. 

There Can Be No Debate Over Asylum

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Tuesday’s vice presidential debate brought exchanges over the question of asylum and border security, with Sen. JD Vance lying—without real-time fact-checking—about the ease of obtaining asylum. He offered a baseless assertion that people can be “granted legal status at the wave of a Kamala Harris open border wand.”

Winning asylum is extremely difficult, and the horrific conditions forcing women to seek protection from gender-based violence in Central America and Mexico show no signs of abating.

Survivors Know Donald Trump’s Type

As someone who has worked in the field of intimate partner violence for 30 years, Donald Trump has felt familiar to me—and not in a good way.

When you are good, you are in a wonderful romance: (“Women love me.”)

When you step out of line, you are crazy and no one will believe anything you say. (“Kamala Harris is mentally disabled.”)

If you leave, you’ll be sorry. (“If I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a bloodbath.)

We Can’t Keep Sidelining Survivor Justice

In the crowded landscape of gender justice, survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) are often neglected. While gender issues like abortion rights, pay equity and childcare frequently dominate discussions, survivor justice—particularly for those impacted by GBV—struggles for recognition.

The epidemic proportions of GBV demand a new approach: creating a survivor justice movement, an independent space that focuses on the healing, support and visibility of survivors.

It’s Time to Protect People With Albinism and Their Right to Live Safely

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Albinism is a non-contagious, genetically inherited condition that affects people regardless of race, ethnicity or gender. The condition is characterized by a lack of melanin in the hair, skin and/or eyes. This lack of melanin makes people with albinim susceptible to ultraviolet rays, increasing their risk of developing deadly skin cancer. Although it is a relatively rare condition, albinism disproportionately affects people in poverty and those facing multiple and intersecting forms of stigma, discrimination and violence.

This summer marked a decade since the creation of International Albinism Awareness Day. Ten years on, we reflect on the challenges faced by individuals with albinism and to celebrate the significant strides made to advance their human rights.