The Rev. Nicqi Askwood is Programme Executive for Just Community of Men and Women with the World Council of Churches
Amidst the hustle and bustle of Life: Thanksgiving, Advent, studies, workplace drama, shopping, bills, climate crises, wars in almost every continent, births, marriages and death - it’s almost impossible to squeeze one more thing. Particularly a 16-day campaign to end sexual and gender based Violence.
When this is compounded by rising costs and diminished resources, it is almost impossible to get on board with a call to invest in gender-just projects. Yet the needs are great and varied, a reminder of the intersectionalities of SGBV.
This is not new, as many of these issues manifested in former times. And then, unlike now, the world was even less attuned to the reality of sexual abuse, gender-based violence, harassment and gender inequality. And where there was awareness, very few were sufficiently invested in challenging the norms of misogyny and patriarchy.
But this has shifted. And as people of faith, as believers in the Prince of Peace, as celebrants of a teenage mother who, in obedience to God, risked her life to birth Hope; we MUST press on. We Must Invest
We must invest our time annually 16Days in advocating for a world with equal rights for girls and boys, men and women.
We must invest our support monthly in orange-ing our world to realize dignity and agency for all
We must invest our energies weekly, wearing Black on Thursdays, and raise awareness of the gender injustice in our world (#ThursdaysinBlack) and in solidarity with victims and survivors of gender-based violence
We must invest our talents and treasure daily to realize a just, safe and equitable future for all, at home, at work, at school, in the communities, so that no one is left behind.
We must invest if we’re to reap the dividends of the world we seek; a world where conflict doesn’t eventuate in rape, refugees and forced recruitment ; a world where power doesn’t equal abuse and domination; a world where we genuinely see each other as crafted equally in God’s likeness
Are we willing to invest?