The theme for yesterday’s International Women’s Day celebration as established by the UN is, “Ending impunity for violence against women and girls.”
I am not sure what impunity means when it comes to the daily realities of women and girls living with violence.
Ending impunity seems even more abstract.
I see “ending impunity” and I stop reading, stop short of women and girls and start to wonder what does that really mean and who decided that was the right language to use?
It felt like a committee to me, a committee charged with the marketing objective, thinking about themes, compromising on language to make sure everybody agrees.
Perhaps even righteously so.
But it doesn’t work. I get stuck on impunity and never get to women and girls, never get to the fear and the consequences of violence.
What about just ending violence against women and girls, or preventing violence against women and girls? What about using language that is less about ideas and more about action?
Let’s learn about ways to prevent violence, not just punish it, and share what works within and across our local and international communities.
Themes can serve as a call to action; language can serve as a call to conversation.
And marketing? Well, marketing is our way of claiming a little bit of space in a busy world thrumming with information.
