Violence Against Women
Overview
Violence against women is the world's largest pandemic -- and Breakthrough's central issue focus today. Our organization was founded, in fact, with the 2001 release in India of a record album about women's rights featuring the blockbuster song and music video Man Ke Manjeere, which celebrates a woman's freedom from violence and inspiration to others.
Partner assault, early marriage, "honor" killings, rape as a weapon of war: these and many other crimes are committed against women because they are women. Violence against women is not only a violation of women's human rights to safety and self-determination; it also holds families, communities and countries back. It keeps half the world's population from contributing fully to their local and national economies, from moving the world to its full potential. And it is what makes the most dangerous place in the world for a woman her very own home.
According to a recent major report by the World Health Organization, 35% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. Most of this violence is committed by their intimate partners. "Violence against women is not a small problem that only occurs in some pockets of society," the report reads, "but rather is a global public health problem of epidemic proportions, requiring urgent action."
Breakthrough works to transform the attitudes toward women that cause, justify, or excuse violence. We work to build a world where women -- and all marginalized people -- are safe in their homes and limitless in their ambitions. Our newest and largest initiative to combat violence against women is Ring the Bell: One million men. One million promises, which calls on men to take concrete action to help end violence against women and change the culture -- including the inequality and discrimination -- that allows it to persist. This is the first initiative of our global Ring the Bell campaign, which itself began in India as Bell Bajao ("ring the bell" in Hindi) and grew into our longest-running and most internationally-lauded effort to date. Bell Bajao calls on men to interrupt overheard domestic violence and, collectively, make the "private" public and the "acceptable" unacceptable.
We also work to draw attention to abuses and violations faced by women immigrants to the United States, and how current policies and practices contribute to violence against those women and their families.
Given the current, unprecedented attention to acts of violence against women from Delhi to Steubenville and more -- and the unprecedented level of action taken by men in response -- (not to mention momentum around immigration overhaul in the United States) we believe that we stand today at a global tipping point on the issue of our time. With your hard work, and with men as leaders and partners, we -- in this generation -- can build a world in which all of us can live freely, fully, and without fear.
Featured ContentView All
#YesAllMen Can Be Allies
article | Posted: 06/05/2014In the wake of the UCSB shootings and a chilling anti-woman manifesto, further thoughts on how to engage men in the anti-violence movement.
India’s Rapes Too Often Excused as ‘Boys Will Be Boys’
article | Posted: 06/02/2014Yet again global outrage and attention are focused on India. In the most recent rape-murder in Uttar Pradesh, a story of “boys will be boys” unfolded in a chilling and familiar pattern. Two teenage girls belonging to the Dalit caste went out to the fields because there are not enough toilet facilities for women in India. They never returned.
Delhi Gang Rape: One Year Later
article | Posted: 12/19/2013One year ago, Jyoti Singh Pandey—known in India as Nirbhaya, or “Without Fear”—was brutally raped and murdered in an unimaginable act of violence in a New Delhi neighborhood. Only months before, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani student and activist, was shot by the Taliban—and, thankfully, survived.
One year ago today, a young woman changed the course of India’s history
article | Posted: 12/16/2013It’s been one year since the fatal Delhi gang rape aboard a moving bus—one year since a 23-year-old woman captured the world’s consciousness. While violence against women and girls continues to remain the largest global human rights pandemic, her courage brought the issue out of the shadows into stadium lighting, initially a fight waged from a hospital bed, then days later in death.
Slow change comes to India a year after Delhi gang rape
article | Posted: 12/12/2013One year ago, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student was raped and murdered. Her story showed the world that women across India are viewed as dispensable, undeserving of full human rights.
One year later, what has changed?
‘Stand Your Ground’ and the Crisis of Toxic Masculinity
article | Posted: 07/30/2013Mallika Dutt, the CEO of Breakthrough, on how the same mentality that plays into aggressive ‘stand your ground’ laws often breeds violence against women.
A tipping point?
article | Posted: 07/09/2013I have spent the last 30 years fighting violence against women. And I am hardly alone. Thousands upon thousands of advocates have toiled for decades to — as with HIV/AIDS — bring the issue to public attention and show it for what it is: a global pandemic with countless manifestations and toxic ripples into all levels of society.
Men Forwarding LGBT Rights in Sports Culture Can Help Stop Violence Against Women
article | Posted: 05/15/2013Brendon Ayanbadejo is correct: “Gay” does not equal “feminine.” More to the point, as the Super Bowl-winning linebacker recently told Meet the Press, “gay” does not automatically equal anything at all. “People think that gayness has something to do with femininity, when really we just need to erase that stereotype from our minds, because LGBT people come […]
Working to Stop Violence Against Women
article | Posted: 05/13/2013Protesters held a banner against the gang rape of a student in New Delhi, January 13. (Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images) Violence and discrimination against women is a widely discussed topic, but the December gang rape and subsequent death of a student in New Delhi sent shockwaves around the world. New tales of abuse still […]
Mallika Dutt: Violence Against Women Is Everyone’s Problem
article | Posted: 05/06/2013Why a global cultural change is needed to prevent crimes like the recent rapes of two small girls in India. One is far too many. Two begins to boggle the mind. Two in one week—it’s almost impossible to find words. And in fact, the rape and murder of two tiny girls, only four and five years […]
Former NFL quarterback Don McPherson challenges media response to Steubenville verdict
download | Posted: 03/19/2013Exclusive: Patrick Stewart Calls on Men to End Violence Against Women
article | Posted: 03/19/2013Many of us remember Sir Patrick Stewart on Star Trek: The Next Generation as the heroic Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise whose mission was to explore the galaxies. In real life, the dynamic 72-year-old acclaimed actor and activist has taken on his own personal mission: enlisting men in the movement to end violence against women, […]
Patrick Stewart: Men need to help end abuse
article | Posted: 03/11/2013Thank you, Captain Picard. Speaking over the weekend at an event he hosted for the Ring the Bell anti-violence campaign, the actor issued a challenge — and sounded an important call for 1 million men to make 1 million “concrete, actionable promises” to end abuse against women, the “single greatest human rights violation of our generation.” Stewart’s remarks were […]
‘Evil’ isn’t an excuse
article | Posted: 03/11/2013Zerlina Maxwell, law student and political commentator, “can’t even read” her own Facebook page because “it’s full of people wanting to rape me,” she told Salon. The reason for this outpouring of hateful online posting is that this courageous rape survivor spoke on Fox’s Hannity program and said preventing rape is about “telling men not to rape women,” not telling […]
Calling all Global CEOs — Have You Signed the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles Yet?
article | Posted: 03/11/2013The UN is putting its muscle behind changing the game for global women, and is asking companies around the world to follow suit. There has been so much talk, but so little action – around women’s leadership, gender equality, and curtailing violence against women. This year, however, efforts seem to be more serious, possibly fueled […]
Sir Patrick Stewart: ‘Violence Against Women Is Learned’
article | Posted: 03/10/2013Speaking on behalf of the Ring The Bell campaign — a movement that calls on men and boys around the world to take a stand and make a promise to act to end violence against women — Sir Patrick Stewart, a consistent and powerful activist for equality, spoke eloquently about what violence against women looks like, and what it […]
One million men, one million promises to help end gender-based violence
article | Posted: 03/08/2013Our own Zerlina is still getting rape threats from conservatives who apparently think suggesting men can end sexual violence is the very height of stupidity. Meanwhile–over in the reality-based community–a global movement of men doing just that is growing. Launched today by Breakthrough, in partnership with UN Women and grassroots groups from South Africa to Malaysia, the “Ring the Bell” campaign is […]
Men Promising to Stop Violence Against Women Will Be a Global Tipping Point
article | Posted: 03/08/2013We have struggled to end violence against women for as long as any of us can remember. But today — finally — I believe we stand at a global tipping point. As we all know, series of increasingly shocking — and increasingly visible — acts of violence from Delhi to Cairo and from Bredasdorp, South […]
To stem violence against women, men must step up
article | Posted: 03/07/2013Editor’s note: Don McPherson is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, a feminist and social justice educator. Follow him on Twitter, @donmcpherson. (CNN) – Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is the 2012 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. Why? In large part because of Witten’s tireless commitment to ending domestic violence. As a former professional […]
Respect is the First Step
article | Posted: 01/10/2013The recent gang rape and murder in Delhi has brought unprecedented attention to the scale of violence against women in India. How can we use this opportunity to make concrete gains for women’s safety and human rights? We’ve been heartened to see young men joining young women on the streets demanding change. The public has […]
Learn
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breakthrough insight: Bell Bajao
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Is This Justice? – Summary Evaluation
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Strength in Action: A Guide to Preventing Domestic Violence
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- An educators' tool to engage young people in addressing domestic violence. More...