Gender-based violence in the United States is fueled by unmitigated access to firearms, a lack of services for survivors, and dangerous narratives spread by the gun lobby.
What is Domestic Violence?
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one
partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic
violence can occur between people who are or have been in a close or intimate relationship,
regardless of their gender or sexual orientation. Domestic violence can take many forms, such
as physical, sexual, emotional abuse, stalking, and threats of abuse.
What is Sexual Violence?
Sexual violence is any intentional act of a sexual nature that is forced on another person,
without their consent. Consent is the voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. Sexual
violence can be committed by anyone, regardless of their relationship, through physical force,
coercion, intimidation, humiliation, or taking advantage of another’s vulnerability. Sexual
violence can affect people of any age, gender, or background.
For help, please contact:
| Local Level | Independence House at (508) 771-6507 https://independencehouse.org |
| State Level | Jane Doe Inc. (617) 248-0922 https://www.janedoe.org |
| National Level | National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) https://nnedv.org |
| National Domestic Violence Hotline (800) 799-7233 | |
| Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) https://rainn.org/ | |
| National Sexual Assault Hotline (800) 656-4673 |
Women and Gun Violence
Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis. Every day, more than 100 people are killed with a firearm, more than 200 are nonfatally injured, and more than 1,000 are threatened with a gun. There are many forms of gun violence, each affecting communities differently, and women are uniquely affected.
More than 11,000 women in the United States were killed with a gun between 2015 and 2019,
according to the CDC. While men suffer even higher rates of gun violence, women are often targeted for violence because of their sex and are frequently victims of people they know well. Every month, an average of 57 women are killed with a firearm by an intimate partner.
The impact of gun violence against women goes beyond fatal encounters. A 2016 study found that
nearly 1 million women alive at that time had been shot by an intimate partner, and 4.5 million women had been threatened with a firearm. Firearms have long been used as a tool of power and control to instill fear and inflict abuse on women—with women of color, people in the LGBTQ community, and women with disabilities being disproportionately affected.
Resources:
| Local Level | Cape cod Grandmothers Against Gun Violence https://www.capecodgag.org |
| Falmouth Gun Safety Coalition https://falmouthgunsafetycoalition.org | |
| State Level | Massachusetts Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence https://mapreventgunviolence.org |
Synopsis above taken from: www.americanprogress.org/article/guns-and-violence-against-women
What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide—including right here in the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality.
The trauma caused by the traffickers can be so great that many may not identify themselves as victims or ask for help, even in highly public settings.
Help and Resources:
| Local Level | Cape Cod PATH https://capecodpath.org |
| Children’s Cove: The Cape and Islands Child Advocacy Center (508) 375-0410 | |
| National Level | National Human Trafficking Resource Center 1-888-373-7888 Or text “INFO” or “HELP” or “BEFREE” to 233733 |
| National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 www.missingkids.com/cybertipline | |
| Homeland Security Investigations Hotline 1-866-347-2423 https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form |
Synopsis above taken from DHS Blue Campaign www.dhs.gov
The Green Wave
The Green Wave (“Marea verde”) is a grouping of abortion-rights movements in various countries in the Americas that have collectively adopted the color green as a symbol of their movement and successfully pushed governments to expand abortion access in multiple countries across Latin America, a region known for some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world.
Green Wave activists have contributed to the 2020 legislation of abortion in Argentina, the 2022
decriminalization of abortion in Colombia, and exemption to the abortion ban for cases of rape in
Ecuador. The Supreme Court of Mexico issued a unanimous 2021 ruling that decriminalized abortion in the country, chief justice Arturo Zaldivar Lelo de Larrea credited the Green Wave activists for shifting the national consciousness as well as the position of the Mexican Supreme Court on the issue, saying: “It kept getting harder and harder to go against their legitimate demands.”
Green bandanas were first adopted as a symbol by Argentinian abortion and family planning rights
activists in 2003, drawing inspiration from the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protesters who similarly used white scarves (opponents of abortion rights in Argentina in turn began using blue bandanas as their symbol). Green bandanas were also used by Argentinian Ni una menos anti-femicide protesters in 2015.
By 2020, green bandanas were being used by abortion rights proponents in several other Latin American countries. During the 2020s, multiple Latin American countries decriminalized abortion. After the Supreme Court of the United States overturned a precedent that mandated abortion access federally and multiple U.S. states began restricting abortion access as a result, abortion rights protesters in the United States also began using green as their symbol.
Source: Wikipedia.