NEWSBYMADELINE WHEELER

As a child abuse and domestic violence prevention advocate, it probably makes sense that my days and news — and therefore my writing — are filled with sad stories. When I make a snide comment that I’m sick or angry about something, it’s because I am. So how does one go about being immersed in horror stories and come out feeling like you have made a difference?

I think it is crucial to take a step back once and a while and breathe. Our women’s rights stories aren’t just fodder for thought, or something just to get our two-cents out there. These issues cut me to the core and if I believed nothing could change, I wouldn’t be doing this. The petitions, the letters, the campaigns — it’s about taking power into your hands and using your voice to make a difference. After Elham Madhin al Assi, the 12-year-old Yemeni child bride who due to severe hemorrhaging died last month, people did take action.

The National Safe Motherhood Alliance, in cooperation with the British Department for International Development (DFID) and the White Ribbon Alliance, conducted a two-day seminar on different approaches to the issues and legislation related to child marriage.

The seminar tackled the issue from religious, legal and medical points of view, and affirmed the following: 1) There are great religious reservations on the legalization of child marriage. 2) The legislation is a work in progress. 3) Child marriage is medically dangerous for the brides because it jeopardizes their lives, often leading to their deaths.

I was relieved that all the participants unanimously agreed that child marriage is like statutory rape when the bride is less than 13 years old, and that it should be considered as such from all perspectives.

You too, can be empowered by taking action. You can sign this petition To Stand Firm Against Child Brides, started by Change.org member Bryan Freeling, to make your opinion heard and to make a difference in these children's lives.

Photo credit: Martin Sojka

Following the controversial results of the 2007 presidential election of Mwai Kibaki, violence erupted in Kenya, particularly targeting women -- one hospital reported that incidents of rape doubled. This may seem like old news, but the rapes have not stopped. This week, I received an email from CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, reporting on the Nairobi Women's Hospital's statement that someone is raped every half hour in Kenya. CARE focuses on aiding poor women, aiming to equip them with proper resources and to empower them to help whole families and entire communities.

Because of rape, HIV is also on the rise in the young school-girl population in Kenya. According to the Kenya Broadcast Corporation, First Lady Lucy Kabaki recently appealed to Members of Parliament to make rape charges more punitive, especially when teachers who are entrusted with children’s care are raping their students.

First Lady Kabaki said, "Some of these teachers who are raping our girls know that they are infected [with HIV] and think that they can be cured by engaging in reckless sex with minors. I am extremely concerned that in this day and age the teachers body KNUT (Kenya National Union of Teachers) has not found it necessary to condemn some of their members who have been found to engage in this vice. How can somebody who is a proven rapist be released back to society? Even 20 years is not enough of a sentence. These sexual offenders deserve life imprisonment and if need be, society should look for harsher sentences for those found to be guilty of molesting our children."

Are you as outraged and disgusted by this news as I am?

Allison Myrick, a Fitchburg State freshman, was majoring in media communications, with a specialization in graphic arts. "Allison was a very intelligent, creative, funny, compassionate, beautiful 19-year-old with her whole life ahead of her,’’ her family said. She was, however, a victim of teen dating violence. During an argument about text messages, her boyfriend, Robert Gulla, 19, punched her in the stomach four times, knocking the wind out of her. During a separate incident he threw her to the floor, according to court documents; he then elbowed her in the head and knocked her unconscious.

On January 21, 2010, Allison took out a restraining order against him. Four days later, Robert stabbed her to death. How many girls have to die before teen dating violence is an issue that legislators and educators take seriously?

February was Teen dating Violence Awareness Month. Creating awareness is a beginning, but where do we go from there? How about this:

Step One: Create a national, comprehensive teen dating abuse curriculum and introduce it to children before they begin dating and developing unhealthy relationship habits. According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 72% of 8th and 9th graders report "dating." By the time these students get to high school, more than half of them already see dating violence among peers. And the growing epidemic of digital dating abuse -- "sexting," cyberbullying, and harassment with cell phones -- is even more alarming. According to a 2009 study from MTV and The Associated Press, 50% of 14- to 24-year-olds have been the target of some form of digital abuse. Liz Claiborne offers a dating abuse curriculum, Love is Not Abuse. The updated version, launched on February 25, now includes digital abuse issues.