Why I'm Rising for Justice in West Hollywood

Last year, hundreds of people gathered in West Hollywood to launch One Billion Rising in Southern California.  One Billion Rising is a global campaign of the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls.  UN statistics tell us that one in three women in her lifetime will be raped or beaten.  That's more than one billion people on the planet.  To stop the violence, our visionary leader Eve Ensler created One Billion Rising to call on one billion women and the men who love us to RISE.  And on February 14, 2013, over one billion people in more than 200 countries joined the movement to RISE in a commitment to ending violence against women and girls.

Last year, our campaign's primary goal was to move the conversation from the margins to the mainstream.  Now, we are hearing everyday about the violence that's inflicted upon women and girls all over the world.  No longer can anyone say that they did not know violence against women and girls is a profound epidemic.  But the temptation is to think that gender-based violence only happens in places outside of West Hollywood, and that our progressive city knows all the facts about violence against women.

The truth is that this violence occurs right here in our own community.  A few months ago, I came home to find two LASD cars parked outside my apartment.  My neighbor told me that there had been a "domestic disturbance" next door.  I was stunned.  For all the work the City has done to educate our community about domestic violence and sexual assault, for all the efforts of the Public Safety Commission and the Sheriff's Department to protect our residents - here it was in my own neighborhood, right next door to where I live.  No community is immune to the dangers of domestic violence or sexual assault.  It is happening everywhere.

This year, I am rising for justice because it is far too rare for women who survive violence.  Whether it's servicewomen who have been subjected to abuses unchecked by the military legal code of justice system, or women who are victimized by online predators seeking a profit, or the media's role in cultivating a culture of violence against women, we often feel that there is no safe place to turn.  I believe that true equality for women can only be achieved when we no longer live in fear for our safety, when we no longer need protection for speaking out about the injustices around us.  

On February 14, over one billion people all over the world will rise for justice to create safe spaces for women and girls to tell their stories, to connect with community resources, and, most importantly, to know they're not alone.  In West Hollywood, we will gather at 9 am at Sal Guarriello Veterans Memorial, with our program beginning at 10 am.  I ask you to stand with me in choosing justice and ending violence against women and girls.

For more information about our West Hollywood event or to RSVP, please visit: http://www.obrlosangeles.org/obr4j_weho

For more information about OBR4J events taking place in Los Angeles, please visit: http://www.obrlosangeles.org/