The scale of rape in the UK, as in the world, is the tip of
an ugly iceberg of violence. Rape often comes as part of a package of abuse. Institutional
abuse, cultural abuse, domestic abuse. Rape is violence, rape is a tool of warfare,
rape is the sick subjugation of the abused by the oppressor and it is not to be
tolerated for even one single moment, under any circumstances whatsoever, by
any individual, institution or government.
The figures below represent a holocaust. A women’s holocaust
without end.
1 out of every 3 women in the
world has been raped, beaten or abused
30% of people in the UK think that violence against women is OK.
50% think it should be kept behind closed doors
More than 100 million women are missing from the world's population - a result of discrimination and female infanticide.
Two thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates worldwide are female
At least 60 million girls worldwide are forced into marriage before the age of 18.
An estimated 3 million girls are estimated to be at risk of female genital mutilation each year.
A third of teenage girls in a relationship suffer an unwanted sexual act.
A quarter of girls suffer physical violence, such as being slapped, punched or beaten by their boyfriend.
1 girl in 16 is raped
64% of students know women whose boyfriends or partners have hit them
25,000 men in England and Wales move from one relationship to another, serially abusing their partners
Everyone in society is responsible for these figures (from
Amnesty International) by either looking away, or feigning blindness. And
society will not change until each one of us changes. True equality means real
respect. You do not beat or rape a person you respect, and you respect your
equals.
We must remove the shame and stigma from rape victims and
honour those who are raped. Only by applauding the bravery and resolve of the
abused can we turn the tables on these cowardly oppressors.
Rape is the ultimate crime of an unequal world.
