Article November 26, 2018 Issue

A spiritual remedy for gender-based violence

Monica B. Esefer Passaglia

If we are truly loving our neighbor, it is impossible to be indifferent to the issue of gender violence afflicting our communities, especially women. An article on the website of UN Women, a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women, states that according to the World Health Organization, an estimated “35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some point in their lives” (unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures). It also cites the World Bank Group’s findings from a few years ago that “at least 140 countries have passed laws on domestic violence, and 144 have laws on sexual harassment.”

While this last reference indicates an important step of progress, it is no guarantee that any country will respect or implement recommendations made by UN Women or the World Health Organization to ensure women’s safety.

In 2015, as a result of rising concern about gender violence in my country, Argentina, a social movement seeking to combat violence against women sprang up called Ni una menos (“Not one less”—meaning not one less woman in the world on account of femicide). The movement has since spread to many other countries in Latin America, as well as to Spain. In Argentina, the movement is demanding the implementation of a national plan of action to protect women against physical abuse.

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A spiritual remedy for gender-based violence

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