Last weekend saw a campaign on Facebook where members were changing their profile pictures to those of cartoon characters from their childhood. The aim was to promote awareness of child abuse. I chose to change my picture and post the status to share the idea because I thought it a good one. To me it was representative of the invisibility of childhood abuse of all kinds. And it got people talking, if not always for the right reasons.
Firstly there was the usual Facebook panic about the trend being linked to paedophiles. Supposedly by using cartoon characters as their profile pics they could get a child to accept a friendship request quicker. Hoax Slayer discusses here why it isn't so.
Finally there were those who decided that this campaign quite simply wasn't good enough and berrated others for simply posting a cartoon picture and not taking "real" action by donating money and volunteering their time. This is the one that really irks me. What gives anybody the right to assume that just because a person posted a cartoon profile picture that they do not do anything else to support the cause of ending child abuse? And who is the great authority that declares what exactly "real" activism is?Yes, it would be nice if everybody donated to their local Non-government, not-for-profit organisation that supports children who have been abused. Even better if could throw money at a cause and actually have it lead to the world-wide erradication of the plague that is child abuse. In an ideal world maybe.....
There are lots of reasons why people latch onto the simple actions like the Facebook one rather that throw themselves and all their assets into a cause. Maybe they simply don't have the time or the money to help like they would like to. Maybe they are taking the simple way out, but is it really a way that causes less thought or discussion than buying a red nose, a bandana or a ribbon? Or maybe they believe that a million quiet voices can actually make one hell of a noise.
Personally I believe that if a person chooses to support a cause then the manner in which they choose to do so should be one they are comfortable with. I have chosen to be active in fighting for awareness of violence against women, specifically in the form of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence. There is no ribbon for this specific cause, no special awareness day, no people wearing funny noses or jeans or head coverings. Instead it tends to be both covered and caught between sexual assault and domestic violence awareness. This has meant that I have very much had to find my own way, and learn from the example of those who have gone before me.
My way of raising awareness of IPSV has been to speak out or write about it. Intitially I did this by posting my story, somewhat anonymously, on the website Aphrodite Wounded. You can read it HERE. I have also written other articles that were aimed at both professionals in the field of domestic violence and the wider community. These tend to be a mix of personal experience and academic research. You can find one HERE. I also joined a choir attached to my local women's services/DV centre (unfortunately the choir has since been disbanded). The choir performed occasionally, singing songs that raised awareness of violence against women and the potential for women to regain strength and determination. During performances some of the women would speak, telling their stories and using their experiences to help educate those we entertained. At the choir's last performance I told my story.
Speaking out and writing about my experiences is the way I am most comfortable in raising awareness about IPSV. It is no less a cause for not being able to donate or volunteer. Raising awareness, breaking down the silence that surrounds so many forms of abuse (including school-yard bullying and workplace harrassment) is, to me, the single biggest step that needs to be taken. How I choose to take that step is up to me and all I ask is that others respect that, just as I will always respect that others support their own prefered causes in their own way. It doesn't make any of it wrong, or not enough, or pointless because it is, quite simply, better than doing nothing because doing nothing allows silence to continue to shroud interpersonal violence of all sorts.
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