Students learn about impact of violence against women
An insight into the shocking extent to which violence against women occurs was given to pupils of two local schools at an interdenominational event held at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar on Thursday week last.
Organised by Loreto College, Wilson’s Hospital School and the local Christian Voices Together movement to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the event took the form of a prayer ceremony, and a talk by Emma Lynch from Tearfund Ireland, who is also a board member of the Evangelical Association of Ireland.
Welcoming the attendance, Mullingar parish administrator Fr Phil Gaffney stated that domestic violence is a cruelty and an abuse against women “which is both intolerable and wrong”.
“Some of the data highlighted on the United Nations website is worrying to all of us who care for justice in society: nearly one in three women have been abused in their lifetime and in times of crisis, these numbers light rise.”
Ms Lynch told the audience that Tearfund Ireland is an international relief and development agency that responds to natural disasters and conflicts and also does development work in a number of countries.
“Around the world our goal is to see people lifted out of poverty in all its forms,” she said, adding that this includes the poverty that women can get locked into through gender-based violence.
“In the course of our work, we see that violence against women and girls is one of the most hidden and yet pervasive human rights violations in our world today,” Ms Lynch said, stating that it still remains largely unreported.
“The United Nations defines violence against women as any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including the threats of such, and coercion, or arbitrary prohibition of liberty, whether in public or private life,” Ms Lynch said.
To tackle the issue, she said, it was necessary to look at the root causes of this ongoing issue, which can include gender stereotypes – “widely-held assumptions and views and expectations just determining what expectations and opportunities should be open to women and girls”.
“There is inequality between women and men. It’s more overt in some places than others,” she continued before going on to ask how their faith should guide Christians in these areas. Her view was that since we are created in the likeness of God, everyone is entitled to be treated as one of God’s precious children.
“Jesus openly conversed with women; he met their needs, and he included them amongst his followers and supporters,” she said adding that the arrival of Christianity transformed life for women at a time: “The New Testament indicates that they really did play a significant role in the life of the early church, their homes were used for gatherings of believers, and they had an important input into the missionary work of the church.”
Ms Lynch said Jesus empowered women and treated them with compassion. He also commanded that we love our neighbour as ourselves, an instruction that left no place for violence against anyone.