BRATTLEBORO — What began nearly 40 years ago as a grassroots movement, when a small group of forward-thinking women came together here, and across the world, to address the issue of men's violence, remains here, a grassroots movement today.
When our foremothers gathered and chose a name for this organization, they found a radical one in “Women's Crisis Center.” At a time when almost no one acknowledged that there was a problem, to name it and call attention to it was groundbreaking.
From that time on, much of the work - both here in this community and globally - has been necessarily focused on responding to “crisis.”
Yet, in 2011, there is no region in the world where women are entirely free, no geography where women's freedom has been secured. In many places, the issue of men's violence against women has been diluted and focus has been lost. Language is routinely altered, made more palatable with terms like “domestic violence” or “intimate partner violence,” making those who commit these crimes invisible.
Language plays a crucial role in social change. While violence crosses boundaries of both gender and sexual orientation, the statistics and our experience inform us that the overwhelming majority of violence is committed by men toward women, which is why our focus remains on women's freedom from men's violence.
Our new name is not about leaving behind the work of responding to women in crisis. We believe it is imperative to stay true to our radical roots, but we are changing the lens and reframing the conversation to focus on what is still missing for women. What is missing is not “crisis,” but “freedom.”
Indeed, the more our culture becomes habituated to the idea of women's crisis centers, the less it questions the human-rights violations.
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We know that we cannot do this on our own. We need momentum to create change. What we can and will do is energize and mobilize ourselves, other women, and this potent community of allies. Together, we will work toward making the changes necessary to end violence while, at the same time, creating an environment where women can move beyond survival into thriving.
We ask you to join us in this movement as we look toward our goal: freedom and self-determination for all women. We rename ourselves the Women's Freedom Center because the women with whom we work do not want to be identified by the crises they experience, but by the freedom they achieve.
As long as women are less safe than men, we are less free. And we will not rest until women are free.