The LWF joins the international campaign “There is no excuse for violence against women”
16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence
Geneva, 25.11.2014.
The Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches have joined the international “There is no excuse for violence against women” campaign, organized by the World Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), which will run from 25 November until Human Rights Day on 10 December.
“It often seems that violence against women happens elsewhere, affects others, not us; a reality the church does not talk about, because there is a belief that it is the problem of a tiny minority of poor and uneducated people,” said Maria Cristina Rendón, programme assistant of the LWF Women in Church and Society (WICAS) programme.
“As long as these excuses continue, thousands of women and girls are exploited, tortured, raped, or beaten to death.” To mark the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence and commitment to gender justice, the LWF WICAS programme will release a short video series in which people of faith affirm that there is no excuse for violence against women and no excuse for ignoring it. These people also speak about healing and restored dignity, which is possible when, instead of silence, there are words of comfort and support for those who have been silenced by shame.
In one video, LWF president bishop Munib A. Younan emphasizes that the understanding that women and men are created equal in the image of God must be developed further in structures and processes that ensure there is no place for violence against women in church and society. Younan also stresses that religious arguments and cultural systems can feed and sustain unequal relationships between women and men, whereas, in the conviction of their prophetic perspective, churches can play a leading role in ensuring gender justice.
Being part of this campaign is a continuation of the path the LWF began in order to take concrete steps, such as the 2002 publication “Churches say NO to violence against women” and the LWF Gender Justice Policy.
The publication affirms that “the need to bring men and women together to work to build healed and healing ‘shalom’ (peace – editor’s note) communities makes the issue of violence against women not only a matter of life, but also of faith”. The campaign against gender-based violence led by the World YWCA demands the elimination of all forms of violence against women and calls on the international community to take action against it.
The report was prepared based on information provided by the LWF http://www.lutheranworld.org
Translated from English by LELBāL pastor Ieva Puriņa
Proofreader Mag. Theol. Milda Klampe