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Valentine's Day Gets New Name In The Fight On Violence Against Women
By
Shannon Snow
February 11, 2005
For decades, February 14 has meant flowers and candy, cards
and dinner dates. In 2005 alone, lovers, friends and family are
expected to spend more than $13 billion on Valentine gifts, according
to the National Retail Federation.
But some people want more out of Valentine's Day than roses
and chocolate. A lot more.
In the past seven years, a growing worldwide movement has fought
to give February 14 a new name: V-Day. Already popular on college
campus and in activist circles, the V-day campaign aims to bring
awareness, support and aid to the plight of millions of women
and girls victimized by rape, sexual assault, and other violence.
The number of women forced to engage in unwanted sexual acts
is staggering. An estimated 300, 000 women are forcibly raped
in the United States each year. More than 10 percent of women
aged 16 to 19 have been a victim of rape or sexual assault, according
to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2002, the
most recent available.
Worldwide, millions of women are victimized by sexual crimes,
according to World Heath Organization, which estimates that approximately
1.3 women each minute are assaulted. Women who have been assaulted
are significantly more likely to be at risk for sexually transmitted
diseases, attempted suicides, and being victimized again.
The movement to help them spawned in part from the success of
Eve Ensler's 1998 play "The Vagina Monologues," which
deals with a variety of issues from sexual assault to female
empowerment. By presenting the play on college campuses and in
local communities, V-Day organizers hope to educate the public
about the significance of the issue of violence against women.
In the United States alone, more than 600 colleges and universities
are participating in V-Day, enlisting thousands of students to
perform the play and program related events bringing awareness
to women's issues.
On Stanford University's campus, an instillation of twelve red
silhouettes of life-sized women's bodies lined the quad this
year in honor of V-Day. On the chest of each one was a written
personal story of a women or girl who had been raped. During
a sunny lunchtime a few days before Valentine's day, students,
faculty and other visitors circled the quad reading the stories
of forced sex, anonymously written by members of the Stanford
community.
"I am a survivor of rape, not a victim," said one.
Also included in the instillation was chain link fence on which
women could tie a purple ribbon if they had been victimized by
sexual assault. Dozens stretched across the fence.
The challenge to help women affected by sexual violence is great,
said Sara Jarvis, director of Rape Trauma Services, a non-profit
that will receive part of the benefits raised by Stanford's V-Day
activities.
"We perform 900 crisis interventions per year in San Mateo
County alone," said Jarvis at a discussion sponsored by
the Stanford V-Day organization. According to Jarvis, who has
worked in the rape and sexual assault field for 20 years, current
issues arising in the field include fighting for more legal rights
for women who have been victimized, and coping with the increasing
use of "date-rape" drugs.
It's too early yet to tell if the V-Day movement, which has
now raised more than $25 million worldwide for non-profits like
Rape Trauma Services, has had any measurable effect in raising
general awareness or prevention.
There is some evidence, however, that attitudes among women
who are victimized by the crimes may be changing.
"We're starting to see an increase in student disclosure
to friends," said Dr. Alejandro Martinez, director of psychological
counseling and services at Stanford's Vaden Student Health Service.
Citing unreleased data collected by the University in recent
years, Martinez noted a "big change" in survivors telling
friends about incidents of sexual assault.
"Friends are often the most important support," said
Martinez.
Contact Shannon Snow at ssnow@stanford.edu
