“By the time I am 14 the boys in my class will have called me a ‘whore’, a ‘bitch’, a ‘c**t’ and many other things. It’s just for fun, of course…”
“By the time I am 16 a couple of the boys will have snuck their hands down my pants while I’m so drunk I can’t even stand straight. And although I say no they just laugh. It’s funny right?
“No wonder I’m raped when I’m 21.”
In a time of shocking violence against women we have seen a plethora of videos raising awareness of the grim nature of the situation.
In a year where two Australian women have been killed every week at the hands of their partners or ex-partners we have rightly been inundated with campaigns to stop the scourge of family violence.
But this video is one with a difference.
This one talks directly to fathers and fathers-to-be and what it says is confronting.
In the five-minute video a daughter tells her father about all of the harassment and abuse she will suffer at the hands of men during her lifetime.
She pleads with her father to stop allowing degrading words and actions of men towards women to continue.
Watch the powerful video here:
“I need to ask you a favour. Warning: it’s about boys. Because, you see, I will be born a girl. Which means by the time I’m 14, the boys in my class will have called me a whore, a bitch, a cunt and many other things. It’s just for fun of course, something boys do. So you won’t worry. And I understand that,” the female narrator says.
“By the time I turn 16, a couple of the boys will have snuck their hands down my pants while I’m so drunk I can’t even stand straight. And although I say no, they just laugh. It’s funny, right?” the daughter continues.
She then tells her father about how she was raped at 21 by a family friend before finally meeting “Mr. Perfect”. Things don’t stay perfect for long, however, and the boyfriend begins to both verbally and physically abuse her.
“Dear Daddy, this is the favour I want to ask. One thing always leads to another. So please stop it before it gets the chance to begin. Don’t let my brothers call girls whores, because they’re not,” the video says.
According to statistics from the World Health Organisation one in three women will be the victim of physical or sexual abuse during their lifetimes. The organisation who created the video, Care Norway said they made the video to highlight abuse at home and abroad.
“One in five daughters in Norway are subjected to abuse from a partner. Daughters of all ages, in all countries and at all levels of society are at risk. Everyone can do something, and as a father you have a special responsibility and a very special opportunity to keep your daughter from being subjected to violence.”
For domestic violence support 24/7, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Top Comments
Love this. Love that the conversation is aimed at the perpetrators of violence. The very people with the power to stop it. And sure, it isn't all women who face violence from men, but it is one in three. In Australia, our own stats are awful - the Hitting Home doco by Sally Sara that aired a few weeks back is a perfect example. One day every single week in Blacktown Court is dedicated just to domestic violence cases.
Violence against women is a massive problem that too many Australian women are facing every single day. So I don't care if it makes you feel uncomfortable - that's exactly the point. And we should all be having conversations with our sons and our daughters and the men in our lives about what we will and won't accept as a society.
Outraged by imagined threats. "I was raped at 21". What? No you were not, you are a figment of someones imagination.
So when I guess there is nothing to be outraged about, we are going to invent a character, make her a victim in a world full on heartless, violent men, and you will be outraged by the narrative that you yourself created.
Come on guys.
Maybe they picked a story that reflects a story "typical" of a woman who has suffered violence - from common experiences of sexual assault as a teen to how an intimate partner descends into a violent perpetrator to the average demographic stats of a DV victim. Her story is almost the same as my own, except I was 17 not 21 and I'm still in the process of completing my MA not a PHD. But it's pretty much the same sorry journey.