V-Men: An Introduction
With this in mind, I sat down to write and was stunned by how easily my own story emerged; surprised, too, by how profoundly the witnessing of hostile acts against women had affected my beliefs about the world, myself, and the role of men (both innocent and guilty) in putting an end to this violent cycle. After “Rescue” was published, I was approached by other men who had stories to tell, from a photojournalist explaining to his six-year-old daughter why he needs to leave her behind for weeks at a time, to photograph raped women in Africa, to a medical doctor tracing his own healing vocation back to a childhood spent watching his mother being beaten by his father.
It became clear to me (as it already was to Eve) that violence against women was not merely a female issue; it was a human dilemma twisting the lives and consciences of men as well; men whose voices needed to be heard in order for the dialogue that began ten years ago with the founding of V-Day to be complete.
In the months to come, we will be presenting — in this space — a series of pieces written by men with the hope of bridging this gender gap.
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