The Silence Has Ended

By Liz Wing on 05/19/2009 @ 05:04 PM

A historic Senate hearing last week heard first-hand testimony about rape and brutality against women in war zones of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.

ENDING THE SILENCE ON RAPE AS A WEAPON OF WAR

“Rape and sexual violence is used as a weapon and tactic of war to destroy the community” said Chouchou Namegabe of the DRC.

“We are vulnerable in our fields, in our streets, and even in our own homes” said a statement by Congolese women’s organizations. “Even our daughters as young as three years-old are vulnerable when they are playing with their friends or on their way to school.”

Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) began the hearing by saying, “I know that efforts have been made to address the sexual violence in conflict zones to date. But it is unacceptable that we continue to hear reports of thousands of women and children being brutally raped – some are merely infants. If raping an infant is not a crime against humanity, I don’t know what is.”
See Senator Boxer’s opening statement here

In her testimony, Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the State Department’s Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues, said “Gender based violence as a tool of war is in no way limited to the DRC and Sudan or in Africa... The underlying problems – gender discrimination and the dehumanization of women – are often the same…”
“There is however an important difference in scope and intensity… 1,100 rapes are reported every month in the Congo area. Women are being attacked solely because they are women, with sexualized torture of unprecedented savagery.”
Among her recommendations for action: “Protection of women needs to be integrated from the start into our efforts to rebuild civil society in Darfur and the DRC.”
See Ambassador Verveer’s full testimony here

This hearing was chaired jointly by Senator Boxer’s new subcommittee, the first ever to include global women’s issues, and Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), chair of the subcommittee on African Affairs.

“The silence on this issue has ended.” Senator Boxer said. No Limits Executive Director, Liz Wing, reports that Senator Boxer will be sending a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, urging for more doctors, to care for women and girls damaged by rape and sexual violence; a Special Representative to the United Nations for women in conflict; more women in security and police force; increased aid for organizations already in place that are doing good work to combat the violence; and the purchase of non-conflict minerals.

“We the women of the Congo, want to work with you, and we need your support to stand with dignity. Stand with us and help us heal our nation.” – Chouchou Namegabe

MARK YOUR HEALTH CARE CALENDAR

An important White House meeting last week added an important new date to our health care calendar:
July 31st – the day President Obama has asked the House of Representatives to complete work on a health care reform bill.
And of course November 15th is the deadline in the Congressional budget resolution for action by both Houses, after which the reconciliation process can be used. (We all know that reconciliation is just another word for majority vote, right?)
There is a lot of work to do, many more votes to be taken and billions of dollars at stake, but we are going in the right direction!

AND A STEP FOR BETTER HEALTH CARE WE CAN TAKE RIGHT NOW

Remember those flu season advisories about staying home from work when you’re sick? That’s good advice, that can help prevent dangerous epidemics, but for too many American working families, it’s just not possible.
“Many American workers who feel ill can’t stay home from work,” said Linda Meric of 9to5, National Association of Working Women. “That means restaurants, child care centers, nursing homes, hotels, public transit systems, schools and offices across the country could potentially be full of infected workers, who should be home in bed or at the doctor’s getting treatment, but will be on the job instead”
An important bill being introduced today, the Healthy Families Act, would ensure workers could take up to seven paid sick days a year, to be used when they, a child, or spouse became ill. Lead sponsors are Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Congresswoman Rose DeLauro (D-CT).
This bill would be good for everybody’s health – and it's action Congress can take right now.

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