Too many women are victims of
domestic abuse and society should protect them better, Pope
Francis said in his February prayer intentions Monday.
It is a powerful message against the violence that millions of
women suffer daily: "psychological violence, verbal violence,
physical violence, sexual violence."
For Pope Francis, these abuses are "acts of cowardice and a
degradation of all humanity."
Consequently, he asks us to pray for the victims, "that they may
be protected by society and have their sufferings considered and
heeded by all."
This month's Pope Video seeks to make the drama of this issue
visible also through narration with images. Thanks to the
collaboration of Hermes Mangialardo—an Italian creative who has
won international prizes and is a professor of animation
design—the video represents, through animated illustrations, the
story of a woman who is the victim of violence, who finds
courage to escape from the tunnel of abuse thanks to her own
strength and to the help of the community.
"It's shocking how many women are beaten, insulted, and raped,"
says the Holy Father in The Pope Video. Indeed, the statistics
compiled by UN Women, updated in November of 2020, are stunning:
each day, 137 women are killed by members of their own family;
adult women make up nearly half of the victims of human
trafficking identified worldwide; and globally, one in three
women have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point
(and 15 million adolescent girls worldwide aged 15 to 19 have
experienced forced sexual relations). What's more, last year
there was the aggravating factor of the pandemic: the
restriction of movement, social isolation and economic
insecurity made women globally even more vulnerable to violence
in private environments.
In his February message, the Pope asks for society to protect
these victims. Although at least 155 countries have approved
domestic violence laws and 140 have legislation regarding
workplace sexual harassment, to give two examples, this does not
mean that these laws always conform with international norms and
recommendations, nor that they are applied and enforced.
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