Silence is the Enemy

There is clearly a debate as to whether all publicity is good publicity. We won’t get into that here, but I lean on the side of usually, with exceptions. “Silence is Not Golden”. As I’ve written about the situation in the Congo here many times I’m going to stand on what has been written in the past. I am however going to pass on a initiative soaring throughout the blogesphere, in what appears to be mostly science blogs. The “oh wow rape is occurring everywhere maybe we should tell someone about it” initiative called Silence is the Enemy.

For those who cared enough over the last 4 years to delve into some of the individual situations where conflict rape is occurring and have taken up the cause, by donating time, money, or words, don’t move on yet. Many of the participating blogs are revenue producing blogs and are donating their June proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. The revenue is from clicks so it would be a nice thing for you to mosey on over via the links and give some of those blogs on that list some click thru.

We should not look at the Congo, or similar places where brutal conflict rape occurs, and think OMG how can this happen, without first examining what happens here in a developed, technologically advanced, highly educated and well fed country, and how our own attitudes and policies regarding rape contribute to what has been a very slow, at times seemingly useless, campaign by those such as the United Nations. We should be bothered by it. With that in mind, and remembering that in many of the countries in the world where conflict rape occurs the foreign policy in regards to the offending country is always about securing either the business interests, other best interests, or security of the country from which the policy comes, and this is often a deterrent to any change. We also shouldn’t forget that poverty, lack of opportunity and education, and the resultant lack of power, is a significant part of the problem. To that end, after working to provide basic health care, food and the necessities for existence, we need to work to provide opportunities for sustainable living, education, i.e. opportunity for socioeconomic growth to those who suffer most, and to those who want nothing more than to help themselves, as this is likely the best way to fight this scourge.

So go do some clicking, Doctors Without Borders does some fine work.

Feel free to spread the word too.

Also of possible of interest:

You can also read the recent report by Physicians for Human Rights, in partnership with the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the report documents “the ongoing abuse of women who fled the civil war in Darfur but continue to face the threat of rape as residents of refugee camps in neighboring Chad”. The report can be found at Darfuri Women dot Org in Nowhere to Turn: Failure to Protect, Support and Assure Justice for Darfuri Women.

You can read more about it in James F. Smiths pieces at the Boston Globe, and Boston dot com.
Tracking the war on women in Darfur
Boston team produces Darfur rape study

You can also view a video interview with Dr Sondra Cosby, medical services director for the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights at Boston Medical Center, she traveled to Darfur with the Cambridge based Physicians for Human Rights.

New! TEN REASONS WHY Eastern Congo is the Most Dangerous Place on Earth for Women

Should you just want just to donate without clicking as, some suggestions:

IRC/Congo
IRC/Chad
Women for Women
Doctors Without Borders
Healing Trauma in DR Congo
War on Women in the Congo – Eve Ensler
Heal Africa

to be cross posted at wonderland or not