80 great phrases against gender violence
Gender violence is and has been throughout history an important problem and social scourge, which has taken many lives ahead and ruined many others.
The fight against this reality has acquired social relevance only in recent times, although different voices have been expressing the suffering of those who suffer abuse, indignation and the need to face this type of acts.
Some of these voices, some known and others anonymous, have reflected powerful messages. Among them we find great phrases against gender violence .
- Related article: "100 feminist phrases of great thinkers of History"
80 phrases against gender violence
Throughout this article we will see phrases that are contrary to inequality and gender violence. Some of them are from well-known authors and authors and others of anonymous authorship or part of various advertising campaigns.
Also, some of them start from statements or works that did not directly address this issue, but that nevertheless can be applied or can be found some kind of relationship with gender violence.
1. Enough of minutes of fear, humiliation, pain, silence. We have the right to have all the minutes of freedom, of happiness, of love, of life. (Campaign Not One Less)
These phrases express the will to live and the right of women to be free and happy, to live without fear.
2. We want to live. All. Not one less. (Campaign Not One Less)
Many women die each day less than their partners or ex-partners for the mere fact of being one. For that reason phrases like this make us see the need to combat gender violence.
3. Before the atrocities we have to take sides. Silence stimulates the executioner (Elie Wiesel)
Not acting is not an option in the face of gender violence, since it favors the perpetrator of aggression to continue inflicting mistreatment.
4. Any time of the day or night is good to say enough and end a stage of your life that you would have wished not to live (Raimunda de Peñafort)
The renowned judge and writer Raimunda de Peñafort expressed in this sentence the need for the moment when the victim decides that it is necessary to change and end his torment.
5. No saints or whores. We are only women (Rotmi Enciso)
Sometimes raised as a phrase in various manifestations against gender violence and in favor of equality, this phrase expresses the need to consider women as human beings equal to men : an existence worthy of respect and that does not have to be neither virtuous and virginal nor passionate and sexual, nor sheltered as if it were something fragile and incapable or used as an object.
6. No man is good enough to rule any woman without his consent (Susan Anthony)
There is no one who has the right to choose and dominate our life beyond ourselves.
7. This irrational desire for domination, control and power over the other person is the main force that fuels domestic violence between couples (Luis Rojas Marcos)
As this well-known Spanish psychiatrist tells us, what ultimately generates abuse is the desire for power over the other, often using traditional gender roles.
8. To wall your own suffering is to risk being devoured from within (Frida Kahlo)
Although the phrase in question does not refer to abuse, it does express a very common reality among the people who suffer it: hide and bury the suffering in the deepest , something that makes it difficult to make the decision to say enough.
9. All violence is the result of people deceiving themselves to believe that their pain is caused by other people, thinking therefore that they deserve to be punished (Marshall Rosenberg)
This phrase is quite self-explanatory, and leads us to think that one of the motivators (if not the only one) of the aggression is the self-deprecation and the feeling of little competition of the abuser.
10. Break the silence. When you witness violence against women do not stand idly by. Act (Ban Ki Moon)
This phrase of the diplomat and former secretary-general of the United Nations expresses the need for witnesses and those who perceive the abuse not to simply ignore them, but to help the victims and denounce acts of violence.
11. The woman's fear of the violence of man is the mirror of man's fear of women without fear (Eduardo Galeano)
Many cases of gender violence stem from the aggressor's need to maintain power and control over the other, using aggression as a method of trying to suppress the victim's own power to live freely.
12. We had two options: be quiet and die or talk and die. We decided to talk (Malala Yousafzai)
This phrase refers to the reality of many women who are subjected and tied to suffering, pain and even death due to the fear that rebelling will generate even more pain.
13. It's not no!
Gender violence is exercised in multiple ways, one of which is sexual violence: sexual abuse or rape are the best known examples. Those who perpetrate this type of violence often ignore their victim's denials , trivializes and even hints that the victim really wanted to maintain relationships. That is why it is very important to take into account a message, initially as simple as obvious, as the one that expresses this phrase.
14. No woman can call herself free when she has no control over her own body (Margaret Sanger)
Many women are forced by their partners to have sex despite not wanting them or generating pain and suffering, something that is often hidden or even the person does not consider sexual assault due to the thought that whoever is doing it is their spouse or partner.
18. I have seen men suffering psychologically unable to ask for help for fear that they will not be considered "macho". I resent the idea that men can not cry (Emma Watson)
The young actress expresses in this sentence the fact that although in a much smaller proportion also some men suffer violence from their partners and do not usually report for fear of social rejection.
19. The violence of man over his partner is invisible except when it is reported; invisible to all but the children who run the risk of perpetuating it, they as abusers, they as submissive victims (Jacobo Durán)
Gender violence does not only affect the person who receives the abuse directly. If there are children, they will be secondary victims or sometimes even instruments to perpetrate violence against the spouse. Likewise, they are exposed to a parental model that they may eventually replicate in the future. Also for them it is necessary to fight to get out of the situation of violence.
20. Defend your life, fight for your independence, seek your happiness and learn to love yourself (Izaskun González)
Phrase addressed to all people who are subjected to gender violence, and seeks to awaken them and make them seek to get out of their situation.
21. Where someone fights for their dignity, for equality, for being free ... look him in the eyes (Bruce Springsteen)
Receiving mistreatment and living subjugated generates great suffering and pain, and breaking up with the couple or resolving what we need to change is often a great difficulty. That is why we must recognize and validate the efforts and courage of those who struggle to achieve it.
22. Violence is not just killing the other. There is violence when one uses an aggressive word, when he makes a gesture of contempt to a person, when he obeys because he is afraid (Jiddu Kirshnamurti)
Although the original phrase encompasses other types of violence, this phrase is clearly applicable to gender violence. And this is not just physical violence or death: insults, harassment, coercion and threats They are just some of the other types of violence that it includes.
- Maybe you're interested: "The 11 types of violence (and the different kinds of aggression)"
23. Violence is the last resort of the incompetent (Isaac Asimov)
A phrase also used to condemn gender violence, clearly expresses that violence is the result of the lack of capacity to manage the relationship with the other.
24. Qualifying gender violence as a women's issue is part of the problem. Gives a huge number of men the perfect excuse not to pay attention (Jackson Katz)
Although there is more awareness at the social level every day, the truth is that on many occasions it has been observed that there is a tendency to consider the fight against gender violence as something specific to the female gender. However, ending this scourge is everyone's business.
25. Today as yesterday, women must refuse to be submissive and gullible, because dissimulation can not serve the truth (Germaine Greer)
The absolute submission that tradition imposed on women with respect to men has often been used as an excuse for the exercise of violence, this submission being something that must change in order to guarantee freedom and prevent and prevent abusive relationships .
26. Every 15 seconds a woman attacked in the world, every 15 seconds a man stops being one (Jorge Moreno Pieiga)
Gender violence is a problem that unfortunately continues to happen every day, and we must strive to fight.
27. There is no barrier, lock or bolt that you can impose on the freedom of my mind (Virginia Woolf)
The famous writer leaves us a phrase in which she expresses that our mind is and must be free , and that we have to fight to overthrow the impositions that they want to pour on it. It pushes us to be strong and to fight violence in order to regain freedom.
28. To be free is not only to get rid of one's own chains, but to live in a way that improves and respects the freedom of others (Nelson Mandela)
This phrase pushes us to seek to improve the situation of those around us, which includes helping to combat the violence exerted against them and them.
29Hitting a woman is not a cultural thing, it is a crime, and must be addressed and treated as such (Hillary Clinton)
Sometimes some aggressors and even some victims justify the violence considering that it is something "normal", considering that their acts are not negative to have been allowed in the past. But the fact that in antiquity the mistreatment was not so persecuted does not imply anything: a mistreatment will never cease to be so, and must be treated and fought as such.
30. Be a mentor and teach young men about how to be men so that they do not degrade or abuse girls and women (Jackson Katz)
Jackson Katz is a well-known writer, filmmaker and educator who has created several prevention programs against gender violence. One of the points that this author emphasizes is that one of the pillars to prevent possible situations of violence is an education free of gender stereotypes that make women subject to man or as a sexual object.
31. When they tried to shut me up, I shouted (Teresa Wilms)
It is important to bear in mind that sometimes people who suffer some type of gender violence are not heard, are vilified and even blamed for what happened . But that someone does not listen to us does not mean that we do not have to keep fighting to live free.
32. I do not want to feel brave when I go outside. I want to feel free
Many people, especially women, express that the mere fact of going out alone in the street generates a certain fear and insecurity in view of the high prevalence of sexist attitudes and even sexual harassment (and in some cases abuse and aggression). This generates great anguish and tension. Nobody wants to live with fear.
33. It is very common for women to think that enduring abuse and cruelty and then forgive and forget is a sign of commitment and love. But when we love well we know that the only healthy and loving response to abuse is to get away from whoever harms us (Bell Hooks)
Many victims decide to give another opportunity to those who mistreat them, with a somewhat distorted idea that the forgiveness of such acts or the regret that many abusers manifest after the act of abuse is a sign of their love. But allowing and forgiving those acts over and over again only leads to repeating a pattern in a continuous way, with nothing changing, causing the violence against them to be perpetuated.
34. I will not be a free woman as long as women are still subdued (Audre Lorde)
This phrase pushes us to fight against gender violence even if we ourselves are not experiencing it, helping to eliminate this scourge of our society.
35. Do not whistle me, I'm not a dog
When we talk about gender violence, we do not just talk about beatings, rapes or insults. Also humiliating and reckless attitudes can be considered as such . We must always respect the dignity of others.
36. Men fear that women laugh at them. Women fear that men will kill them (Margaret Atwood)
A brutal phrase that in the background reflects the situation of many victims of gender violence: while the abusing party fears losing power and being humiliated, the victim fears death, loneliness or own uselessness.
37. You are not alone
Victims of gender violence often feel a great sense of inner emptiness and great loneliness, partly because of the distance from the rest of the environment to which the aggressor or aggressor usually submits and partly because they do not dare to accept and tell anyone your situation. However, and as it is seen in the different marches and demonstrations, the battered person is not alone but has the support of thousands of people , some of which have gone through their same situation.
38. And it all started on the day he made me believe that his jealousy was love ... (Laura Iglesia San Martín)
Often aggressors and aggressors often resort to violence when they believe that they may lose power over the victim or to ensure their dominance. And they can also often try to justify their attitudes and their jealousy as a sign of love, even though it is not such but mere possessiveness and insecurity.
39. Personal, private, solitary pain is more terrifying than anyone can inflict (Jim Morrison)
The suffering of the person who suffers gender violence is usually lived alone, often without the victim expressing it with others and even without expressing it externally when she is alone. Sometimes he even tries to deny the situation in order to avoid experiencing it. But all this accentuates and lengthens his pain and suffering.
40. Without equality there is no love
In love and relationships , an essential part is the perception by both parties of an equality in the rights and capabilities of each, being both equivalent but different and not existing superiority and inferiority relationships.
41. The two sexes are not inferior or superior to each other. They are, simply, different (Gregorio Marañón)
This phrase tells us that although there are differences between both sexes, this does not imply in any case that one is superior to the other.
42. I'm not accepting the things I can not change, I'm changing the things I can not accept (Angela Davis)
Phrase that pushes us to break down barriers and stereotypes in order to change things and prevent cases of gender violence from happening, without surrendering or considering that such violence is impossible to modify.
43. Woman, watch the verbal abuse, do not let them "throw you in the face" words like; useless, self-conscious, garbage, ignorant, ridiculous, etc ... these attributes hide a clear violence that will not take long to manifest (Antón García Abril)
This phrase expresses how often the first step in the emergence of gender violence is the making of disparaging comments that put the victim in a position of inferiority with respect to his attacker.
44. There is no reason in a scream. The one who can best never wins. Speak, you are not an animal (José de Eusebio)
The composer and musician José de Eusebio makes us see in this phrase the need to respect the dignity of the other, in clear allusion to the verbal and psychological abuse to which many people are subjected regardless of whether or not there is physical aggression in between.
45. Love never hits (Laura Iglesia San Martín)
A simple phrase with a great message: violence will never be a sign of love.
46. Calling women the weaker sex is a slander: it is the injustice of man towards woman (Mahatma Gandhi)
The consideration of women as an inferior human being and subordinated to men is one of the cultural elements that have facilitated the emergence of attitudes that can lead to gender violence.
47. The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans, in the same way that blacks were not made for whites, or women for men (Alice Walker)
Men and women are independent human beings, who do not necessarily need the presence of the other to subsist and whose life is not subject to the will of the other.
48. Sometimes you have to forget what you feel and remember what you deserve (Frida Kahlo)
Feelings towards the aggressor often make it difficult for the victim of gender violence to seek help or decide to forgive him continuously. However, these feelings clash with reality: the person they love is making them suffer. It is necessary that all of us remember what we deserve as human beings that we are: to be free and to seek our own happiness.
49. With the blindfold I made a bow in my hair. Now I'm prettier and less blind (Sara Buho)
This phrase expresses the need to remove the blindfold and accept the fact that what the person who is harming us is doing is mistreating us. That moment in which the victim realizes is what allows him to seek help and fight for a better life free of violence.
50. Every woman injured, assaulted, murdered, is the silent and defenseless testimony of the worst that human beings have: the triumph of brute force, blind, savage, sick, on any feeling, on any thought, on everything that It makes us worthy. Let's scream enough (David del Puerto)
These phrases reflect that gender violence is, at heart, a failure of humanity when it comes to developing a society in which we all have the same rights and can be respected, as well as managing our own brutality.
51. You never enter through violence within a heart (Jean Baptiste Molière)
Again, a sign that those who exert violence do not want us. It is necessary to understand this fact in order to be able to fight it.
52. If he mistreats you and you do nothing, you are letting him do it (Montserrat Delgado)
This sentence is not holding the aggrieved person responsible for their situation, but it does reflect that it is up to the victim to find a solution.
53. I encourage men and boys everywhere to join us. Gender violence will not be eradicated until we all refuse to tolerate it. (Ban Ki-Moon)
Once again, the ex-secretary of the United Nations appeals not only to women but also to men in order to eliminate gender violence in our societies.
54. Never offer your heart to someone who eats hearts, someone who believes that the flesh of the heart is delicious and not rare, someone who sucks liquids drop by drop and who, with a bloody chin, smiles at you (Alice Walker)
This unpleasant and brutal phrase is still expressing the need not to give in to a relationship in which one's own pain and suffering and the fact of keep the person controlled and dominated is for the other reason of pleasure and satisfaction .
55. Racial, gender, sexual and other forms of discrimination and violence can not be eliminated without changing the culture (Charlotte Bunch)
For gender violence to disappear and be prevented, it is necessary to act not only in the cases in which it occurs, but also socially and communally: it is necessary that the population be educated in equality and in mutual respect.
56. Equality is a vital need of the human soul. The same amount of respect and attention is due to every human being, because respect has no degrees (Simone Weil)
We are all equally worthy and admirable regardless of our gender, sex, skin color, sexual orientation, race or beliefs.
57. One in three women can suffer abuse or violence during their life. This is an abominable violation of Human Rights, but it continues to be one of the most invisible and little-known pandemics of our time (Nicole Kidman)
Even though every time there are more cases of complaint and greater awareness , the truth is that gender violence is still a theme that those who suffer (and those who practice it) often hide for a long time. It is usually an invisible problem until it becomes extremely evident, and sometimes even not seen as such by the victims.
58. The gender is between the ears and not between the legs (Chaz Bono)
This phrase helps to make us see that men and women are equally capable of living our life, being gender something that does not depend on the sexual apparatus that we have.
59. My body is mine!
The woman has been frequently reified as a sexual object, and in many cases of gender violence the perpetrator of the latter considered that it was her right to dispose of the victim's body for her own sexual satisfaction independently of the will of the other. No one has the right to dispose of another person's body, mind or sexuality without their consent.
60. You can break my hand, but never my voice
A voice that encourages us to fight, to fight to change things and eradicate the violence of our lives.
61. Our men believe that earning money and giving orders are the basis of power. They do not believe that power is in the hands of a woman who takes care of everyone during the day and gives birth (Malala Yousafzai)
This young activist expresses with her phrase the need to value and not underestimate the importance of women regardless of their social or work situation .
62. On the other side of the emergency phone is not only the end of the abuse, there is the life that you have stopped living
As this phrase from an awareness campaign indicates, asking for help is a fundamental step to get out of a situation of abuse and start living again.
63. Do not skip the signs. Choose to live (Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality)
This phrase comes from an awareness campaign broadcast by television in Spain, and expresses the need for the victim or the environment to become aware of the different signs (isolation, humiliation, comparisons, telephone control, economic control, use of children and the environment to hurt her, insults, blows ...) that a case of gender violence is taking place.
64. Women are the only group exploited in history that has been idealized to impotence (Erica Jong)
In this case we speak of a type of gender violence that does not include the couple but society: the tendency to think of the woman as a weak, fragile and incapable creature that causes them to be prejudged, used and little valued.
65. You think that if he does not love you then you are worthless. You think that if he does not love you anymore he is right, you think that his opinion about you must be correct. You think that if he throws you away it's because you're trash. You think that he belongs to you because you feel that you belong to him. No. "Belonging" is a bad word, especially when you use it with someone you love. Love should not be like that (Toni Morrison)
Again in this sentence we see as victims of gender violence they usually have a very low opinion of themselves , an opinion that the aggressor himself generates and reinforces to keep it subdued and under his control.
This makes them think that they need the aggressor and that they owe it to them, that in fact they are lucky that this person is with them (a belief that is often also made explicit by the aggressor) or otherwise they will be left alone and they will not be happy. These thoughts must be fought.
66. Gender violence is born from the darkest part of the human being and it is not necessary to hide it, suffer it, or conceal it. You have to shout with courage and energy ¡Basta ya !!! (Zulema de la Cruz)
This pianist and composer shows us with her phrase the need to externalize, face and combat gender violence.
67. If they hold you back, insult, attack, hit or threaten you do not get confused. That's not love.
Acts like the ones mentioned above will never be a gesture of love, no matter how much they try to disguise it as such.
68. My silence did not protect me. Your silence will not protect you (Audre Lorde)
This phrase aims to push the person suffering gender violence to denounce their situation, to fight to change it. Shutting it down will not make the problem go away, it will only lengthen it.
69. Against gender violence, zero tolerance
A slogan typical of an advertising campaign to raise public awareness, expresses the need to take into account the seriousness of the situation from the start and not tolerate any type of situation or violent action.
70. Why keep silent if I was born screaming? (Faculty of Education of the University Campus of Soria)
This phrase expresses the need to make our voices heard against gender violence, to express the suffering and pain of those who suffer it and to express our repulsion to this type of aggression.
71. No one asked me how my attacker dressed
Often many victims of sexual abuse and aggression they are questioned and blamed of the situation to the point of even questioning how they were dressed at that moment, in such a way that it seems to imply that the aggression is their fault or responsibility. This generates great harm to the victim, who may not denounce or even believe that he or she is really responsible for what happened.
72. In any relationship you have, you do not deserve who does not love you and even less who hurts you (Walter Riso)
As in previous sentences, this author makes reference that whoever hurts us does not deserve us, something that should undoubtedly lead us to stay away from the aggressor.
73. Neither blows that hurt nor words that hurt
This phrase exemplifies two of the most common: the use of aggression and vexation as a method of subjecting the victim of gender violence.
74. We are the cry of those who no longer have a voice
The demonstrations and marches that are organized make it possible to reflect at a social level a reality that most people in the day to day do not usually take too much into account and that nevertheless takes the lives of thousands of people every year.
75. Violence is not a force. It is the abuse of force (Michel Lancelot)
Phrase that includes all types of violence, indicates that violence is always an abuse that makes the aggressor part of a power or type of relationship that maintains on the other.
76. The fears are black and obscure the horizons, hence it is necessary to be guided by experts (Raimunda de Peñafort)
One of the biggest reasons why many victims of gender violence do not report is fear. Fear of reprisals, the future without the abuser, the judicial process that can follow, a possible loneliness or the reaction of the environment, among others. This fear can paralyze the victim, which is why it can be of great help to ask for help from various types of professionals (police, social services, legal and criminal services, doctors, psychologists, social workers ...)
77. The world is bigger than a closed fist
A clear enough phrase that expresses the need for the aggressed person to cease the relationship with his aggressor and escape the violence, having a whole world to discover beyond the abuse.
78. Do not make deals with the abuse
Abuse and gender violence must be eradicated, without tolerating them at any time or making concessions . It is usual that after a specific violent action the aggressor or aggressor promises to change and will not do it again, but in most cases this becomes a spiral of abuse, promises and relapses in the abuse that has no end unless it is intervene or the victim decides to change the situation.
79. Do not give up, please do not give in. Although the cold burns, although fear bites, even if the sun goes down and the wind is silent, there is still fire in your soul, there is still life in your dreams (Mario Benedetti)
Although this poem is not made with gender violence in mind, it is applicable to this issue: many victims end up giving up and seeing change as impossible. That is why it is fundamental to remember that we should not give up and that there is always hope and a life after leaving violence.
80. Your fight is my fight
To conclude, we leave you with this little phrase in which the aggrieved person is simply reminded that he is not alone, and that his struggle and suffering is that of everyone.
Bibliographic references:
- General Society of Authors and Publishers (s.f.). Authors and authors against gender violence.
