Former National Organization for Women president Patricia Ireland spoke at the Take Back the Night Rally Friday, joining Georgetown students in addressing the campus community about sexual violence and violence against women.
Ireland spoke to a crowd of approximately 100 people in Red Square, commending the Georgetown community?and society in general?for creating a safer culture for women to live in today than was the case a generation ago. Legal procedures for prosecuting sexual offenders have become stricter, and the definition of “rape” has evolved to include marital rape, Ireland said. She said that the extension of the definition acknowledges the fact that sexual assault is most often perpetrated by someone the victim knows.
“We’ve changed the laws, we’ve changed the legal age [of statutory rape], and we’ve changed the culture,” Ireland said.
Not only has our immediate or national community begun to change into a culture more hospitable to women, but the international community is evolving as well, Ireland siad. She noted that the “ethnic cleansing,” or systematic rape of women to wipe out an entire race or group of people is now regarded as a “crime against humanity.”
Ireland said that the fight for women’s right to freedom from sexual violence is far from over. She claimed that society still deems violence to be a culturally acceptable means of problem-solving, referring to the Supreme Court’s 1974 rejection of the Domestic Violence Against Women Act in a five-to-four vote. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ireland claimed, four million women are abused each year, and a woman is raped every half a minute.
TBTN organizer Jessica Corsi (SFS ‘03) agreed with Ireland that violence is common in U.S. society. “I don’t have a year in memory without violence,” Corsi said.
Ireland said that much progress remains to be made, and she encouraged students to become involved in the cause.
“We have to celebrate the progress we’ve made. Stand with us. It makes a difference,” said Ireland. “We’ve made progress, but we’re not there yet. It’s too many if it’s one,” she said.
In light of the events of Sept. 11, Ireland addressed the situation of women in Afghanistan living under the Taliban regime. According to Ireland, the “honor killings”?the murder of a woman by her father, brother or husband for bringing “disgrace” on her family?are a regular occurrence in this culture. Ireland compared these “honor killings” to domestic violence in the United States.
“I wonder how different [honor killings are] from situations in our own country,” Ireland said.
Ireland concluded her remarks by urging students to “talk back” in order to “take back our own power and control.” Stressing that freedom from sexual violence is no different than other human rights, Ireland encouraged the community to move forward by “talking back to tell the truth about their lives.”
“Progress is not inevitable. Progress happens because individuals were willing to stand up and make change,” she said.
