Hesperian Health Guides
Working for Change
Talk about it
Talking more openly in your community about violence against women is the first step to changing it. Make it clear that people in your community think it is wrong and will not tolerate it. Find other women who have experienced violence or abuse and share ideas so you can work together. Then include other community members, especially men, who will speak out against violence and abuse.
Set up services to help women who leave
- Set up a shelter for women who leave abusive relationships. Keep the location a secret.
- Help women learn about their legal rights. There may be specific laws they can use to take action against their abusers and protect themselves.
- Help women who leave abusive relationships to learn new skills so they can support themselves and their children.
- Look for both financial and public support, especially from larger, more powerful organizations. Getting resources and endorsements from different merchants and health, religious, and womenâs groups can strengthen your work.
Use social pressure
What pressures prevent people where you live from doing things the community believes are wrong? In some places, it is the police or the military. In others, it may be extended families, community organizations, or religious leaders. In most places, it is a combination of these.
Ask community leaders to speak out against violence against women and to show their disapproval of people who abuse women. Use all of the pressures that work where you live to stop this violence.
In some countries, women have organized to get laws passed that punish men who abuse their wives. But laws do not always work well for abused women. In some places, the people who are supposed to enforce the lawsâ especially the police, the lawyers, and the judgesâcannot be trusted to help. But if the legal system and the police both work to protect women where you live, try to learn as much as you can about the laws and about womenâs rights.
In some communities, men have formed groups to teach other men to stop using violence. Through discussions and role-plays, these groups help men learn new ways to express their feelings. Ask religious and community leaders to help start groups like this and to promote the idea that all men are responsible for ending violence against women.
Children learn how to act as adults by watching their parents. Teach your children healthy ways to deal with their feelings and solve problems, and use these in your own life. Teach everyone in your family to respect girls and women.