It’s been a while since I wrote in this space. That’s because the last time I wrote here I wrote about violence against women, and the response to that was so underwhelming it sort of took the wind out of my sails.
Since then I have come to understand that that response was probably more about algorithms than actual interest, but even if it wasn’t, and there was no actual interest in the subject, here I am writing about it again anyway. Because I realized that if there really is a lack of interest then that just means that writing about now it is more vital than ever.
Of course, at the moment there is plenty of interest, thanks to the case of Gabby Petito. I’m going to leave aside for the moment the issue of why there is so much interest in this one case, when literally thousands of cases of MMIW (missing and murdered indigenous women) go uninvestigated every year. There are entire books that have been written about why we care more about people who look like us (or, in the case someone as beautiful as Gabby, look like someone we want to look like)—a few dozen lines here will not in any way add to that body of work. Instead, I’m going to be grateful that for whatever reason, for this brief moment in time, we are having a national conversation about violence against women at all—even if it is only about violence against pretty white girls.
Because despite the fact that the national news media only seems to discover this issue every three years or so, the truth is that it is endemic. And it is actually a problem that affects everyone—even minority groups, like men (it’s true: women hold a slight population lead over men in the United States—100 women for every 97 men, according to the 2010 census). The truth is, that although violence against an individual is one of the most personal—the most intimate—of acts, it is also a matter of public health. Because the effects of the violence never end with that one person. Consider a recent incident in Florida:
Although it has already passed from the headlines, a few weeks ago two young Florida boys were arrested for planning an attack on their middle school—a serious, long-considered plan. In the aftermath of their arrest it was revealed that in the years prior to this the police had been called out to intervene at their respective homes an astonishing eighty times.
Eighty times. And though the reasons for those calls weren’t listed, no one can look at those numbers and not realize that a majority of those calls were most likely about violence within the home—probably violence against their mothers. (Yes, it is possible that their mothers were the sole perpetrators—possible, but statistically highly unlikely.)
If the plan they concocted hadn’t been stopped, then the violence those two boys had experienced in their lives would have spilled over onto every child at their school. And from there it would have been carried to every child’s home like a virus, rippling out into the community and the world. And for a few more days, there would have been some interest.
But likely not action.
Because action requires paying attention for more than just a few news cycles every few months. It requires realizing that women are not a niche, and that violence against women is not a niche issue. At the very least, it involves simple things like urging our representatives to renew the Violence Against Women Act.
The VAWA is currently stalled in the senate, where, considering that it only passed the house because of the Democratic majority (a depressing 172 Republicans voted against it) it faces an uphill battle getting approved. Which means it’s time once again to call our senators. Or rather, in the case of those of us here in Arizona, to call Kyrsten Sinema, (who has not really done enough to be worthy of the title of Senator). If you’re like me, you have probably called her office so often in the last year that you have her number saved. But just in case, her number is (202) 224-4521. Let her know that you care about violence against women every day, not just every few years. And that you want her to do her duty and work to get the VAWA renewed by whatever means necessary (up to and including filibuster reform).
Because we all deserve to live in a world without violence. No matter what algorithm you use.