Chilling PSA to air during the Super Bowl

Posted by random olio

Over the years I have become more of a fan of football and the plethora of other sports Chris enjoys watching. I usually half-watch/multi-task. Depending on the game I can actually get sucked in and I always watch the Super Bowl. I watch it for the game and I watch it for the one time of year that I actually watch commercials. Some commercials are well crafted and make you laugh and some make you cry. Rarely do you see a commercial that gives you the chills.

This quick commercial gave me the chills. It is actually a PSA for sexual assault and domestic violence. While I have heard for years that Super Bowl Sunday is the one night of the year that has the most domestic violence calls (alcohol, football, aggression, a losing team), the statistics I found online go both ways. Some say that is true and others say it is a hoax. Whether or not it is the worst night of the year, I stand triumphant that NoMore.org is airing this spot to address domestic violence during the Super Bowl.

Chilling, is it not? To think that this is an actual 911 call and the woman was savvy enough to think to call 911 and pretend to order a pizza. You can even hear the man in the background saying “make sure you get a large.” A bit creepy. Not a happy ad, but one that will hopefully make people think about these real issues. GoDaddy, and Pepsi and all the other companies have nothing on this ad.

Women are badass!

Posted by random olio

The statistics are overwhelming. Violence against women is horrifying. The number of rapes, sexual acts against women, and physical or domestic violence against women is beyond believable. Yet it happens every moment of every day.

Today I do not want to talk about the violence. I do not want to think about rape or hatred against women. I want to think about love. I want to think about all the men that adore their wives, girlfriends, and daughters. I want to think about the laughter, the joy, and of all the men that encourage the women in their lives to be their badass selves. Those are the men we need to champion. Those are the men that need to stand tall and be an example for violent men. You can be a man and love your woman. You can be a man and be head over heels for your woman. Love her. Cuddle her. Allow her badass self to shine through and bless the world.

I am one of those women. My man lets my badass self shine through. He lets me be ME. Even if I sometimes makes him blush by being myself. Even if I may embarrass him. I get to be me.

Today is International Women’s Day. To all men out there, let your women shine. Let them be free. Let them be their authentic selves. Cherish them. Love them. Pamper them. To all women out there. Shine. Be free. Pamper yourself. Pamper other women. Today is a day to hug, love, and appreciate womanhood.

This song was just released today. It is called: “One Woman.”

Proceeds of “One Woman” go to UN Women.

Here are more details on International Women’s Day.

Do you know about VAWA?

Posted by random olio

VAWA is the Violence Against Women Act. Keep reading. It is important to know for your daughters, wife, sisters, niece, and friends. “The Violence Against Women Act is a United States federal law passed in 1994, reauthorized in 2000, again in 2005, and is up for reauthorization this year.” In my post last Friday I talked about One Billion Rising. A campaign that raises awareness calls an end to violence against women. Last week, the Senate passed the VAWA act providing $659 million over five years for some domestic violence programs. Next week the House of Representatives will vote on VAWA. That means there is still time to communicate with your Representative. This can mean a local rape crisis center stays open. It can mean women’s shelters in your community stay open. It can mean that another woman is safe.

This is an issue that is near and dear to me.

Please support VAWA. It is not something we should take for granted. We need to do what we can to continue to raise awareness and not assume that because VAWA was in effect in the past, that it will be passed next week. We all can remember presidential elections that we thought, oh it is a shoo in, and things happened differently. As I think about the many recent events where we have seen violence in general, Newtown, Connecticut, Colorado Theater shootings, the list goes on, I wonder about the violence happening to women that we do not see on the nightly news.

This Huffington Post article states:

“On average, four to five women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends each day in the United States as a result of domestic violence. Over 200,000 people are sexually assaulted each year in this country.”

Not a statistic we want to think about, but one we should ponder. This is a no brainer for me. This should be part of being a world citizen, honoring and protecting all humans. It is 2013, we should no longer have to talk about violence against women. We should not have to differentiate between men and women. The reality is we do have to fight for this initiative. Speak up. Let your voice be heard.