Think!
More than one in three (1 in 3) women worldwide (an estimated 35 percent) will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in their lifetime. What if you were told that no place is less safe for a woman than her own home?
Are you OK with that?
Of course, not! And that is as it should be.
The sad thing is that these women and girls are not beaten and violated by extra-terrestrial beings. Somehow, some men and women — far too many of us — have done nothing to stop those who use violence to assert power, control or dominance over women. It begs the questions: can we change these social norms? Can we wiggle out of indifference and spring into action? Can we change attitudes and make our world safer for girls and women?
If you and I do not take this battle on, we are “doing nothing.”And here is the outrage: if we do nothing, we are, in fact, doing something to perpetuate violence against our daughters, our sons, our mothers, our sisters, our friends, ourselves.
Outraged yet?
We are outraged and we believe that art can help raise awareness, change attitudes, and “force” all to take a stand. Will you stand with us?
With “1 in 3” the World Bank Art Program invites action on this challenge in its own way —through art, and you are invited. The World Bank Group (WBG) has a role to play in addressing gender-based violence. Not only because it is morally incorrect, but also because violence against women is one of the most blatant human rights violations and it is a public health disaster. GVRC identifies with this role and alongside other talented artists from around the world, the centre has showcased raw emotions of children who have been dealt with the hand of violence.
“Through the art exhibition “1 in 3,” we give the survivors a voice as we have presented the expressions of their emotions and perception of the violence. The Centre reports an emerging trend of increase in child perpetrators which is alarming depicting vicious cycle of violence in the society. Our psychologists infer the trend to be as a result of children being exposed to sexual violence through witnessing, personal experience and emulating others who have perpetrated the violence through social modeling. This impunity from the previous acts children are exposed to, result in a vicious cycle of violence that if the status quo remains will worsen with the increase in severity of the
abuse/violence. Outrageous!”Alberta Wambua -Executive Director, Gender Violence Recovery Centre of the Nairobi Women’s Hospital
The exhibition is open to the public from July 29 – August 14th 2016 at the Nairobi National Museum, Ecology Gallery.
Credits: World Bank Group
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