1 in 3 Women Experience Gender Based Violence

Disclaimer: This episode was recorded before the shootings in and around Atlanta, Georgia on March 16th, 2021, that resulted in the deaths of eight people, six of whom were Asian women. If you can, please donate to some organizations that support Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander women. Organizations include The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), Red Canary Song, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice. For a more comprehensive list, click here.

Gender-based violence, or GBV, is harm perpetrated against a person’s will on the basis of their gender or gender characteristics. It is such a widespread global issue that 1 in 3 women have reported experiencing some form of gender-based violence. Gayatri Patel, Director of Gender Advocacy at CARE USA, talks to us about ­­­­this universal issue. 

GBV can include rape or sexual violence, domestic or intimate partner violence, human trafficking, child marriage, harassment, controlling behavior, and economic abuse, among other forms of violence. While gender-based violence is often committed against women and girls, it is important to remember that boys, men, and people of other gender identities experience gender-based violence, as well. GBV takes place in all countries, to people in all social and economic classes, and to people of all races, ethnicities, and religions. In practice, global gender-based violence looks like:

·      Somewhere in the world, 1 girl every 2 seconds is married before the age of 18

·      An average of 137 women are killed by a family member each day

·      1 in 10 women in the European Union saying they have experienced cyber harassment since the age of 15

 Conflict, natural disaster, and humanitarian situations often lead to a lack of traditional social support, disintegration of familial structures, and increased rates of stress. Combined, this phenomenon can lead to rising rates of all forms of GBV in these situations. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic increase in GBV, particularly domestic violence, intimate partner violence, child marriage, and female genital cutting. Because people’s movements are restricted due to stay-at-home measures, jobs have been lost, and schools have closed, many are trapped in a home with an abuser, have become financially dependent on their abusers, or have become an easier target of abuse.

Each survivor is different and therefore, each survivor needs different things. Examples of needs for gender-based violence survivors could include economic and job support, immediate crisis counseling, long-term psychosocial services, legal services, sexual and reproductive health services, and more. 

The Biden administration is already taking action to address GBV. The administration established the White House Gender Policy Council and they are developing a national action plan on GBV, and updating the U.S. strategy to responded to global GBV.

Links from this episode

CARE USA on Facebook
CARE USA on Twitter
CARE’s Advocacy Issues
Coalition to End Violence Against Women and Girls Globally
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act
International Violence Against Women Act
Keeping Women and Girls Safe From the Start Act
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN)

Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast where we explore all things reproductive health, rights and justice. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and I'll be helping you stay informed around issues like birth control, abortion, sex education and LGBTQ issues and much, much more-- giving you the tools you need to take action and fight back. Okay, let's dive in.

Read More

Jennie: Welcome to this week's episode of rePROs Fight Back. I'm your host, Jennie Wetter, and my pronouns are she/her. So y'all, this week's episode is a little heavy. We are talking about gender-based violence. So just a bit of a trigger warning because this whole episode is going to be talking about it. So, you know, just check in with yourself, see if you are in a place to listen to it right now, if not, come back to it later, or if it's just something you need to avoid altogether, we'll see you next time. You know, don't, don't listen, if you are not in a place to listen to it. And I think I've talked about this before, but I'm not sure I've done it in other places, but I am a survivor of gender-based violence. It's not something I talk about a lot and I'm not going to share my whole experience, although maybe someday I will. So that was in the back of my head is I was recording this, but also what I was really thinking about was, I don't know if y'all have read any Roxanne Gay. She's just an utterly amazing writer. I really, really… she's just so good. I've read multiple [books], but two of them that really just stuck with me. So first is her book Hunger. And that just, it was just so good. And it just really, I think about it still. And I read it a while ago, a couple of years now. So that was one, but one I read more recently is an anthology she put together called Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture. And that was all I could think about while I was doing this interview is, you know, she talks about in the intro, she wrote how often survivors of violence, particularly sexual violence, but also, I would say gender-based violence in general, um, often have a way of dealing with their trauma. That is, you know, “what I went through is bad, but it wasn't that bad.” And that just really stuck with me because how often I know I have said to myself, like, you know, when I think about sharing, my story is, you know, I mean, yeah, it was bad, but it wasn't that bad. It, you know, so many people have been through so much worse and that's just a way that a lot of us, our heads deal with that trauma, is by, by comforting ourselves by saying it wasn't that bad. So, I just want to say to the one in three of us who have suffered from gender-based violence that I see you, I hear you, I am there for you. And it's okay to admit that it was that bad. I still struggle with that. So, I know it's hard and just, just know that you're heard and believed.

Jennie: And yeah, that was just something that was playing through my head as I was doing this interview. And I know it's hard and we're all working through it and we're going through the process. So, I just, it felt important to me to say that and to share because just, yeah, I don't know, it… that intro, she wrote to the book just really stuck with me and particularly the part about us telling ourselves it wasn't that bad. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know if you can relate, but it was something that really stuck with me. And before we turn to this week's episode, I just wanted to say, if you need help or someone to talk to, you can always reach out to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network. You can call their 1-800 number at 1-800-656-HOPE, or you can do a live chat online at RAINN.org They're there for you if you need someone to talk to. And with that, let's turn to this week's interview.

Jennie: Hi, Gayatri, thank you so much for being here today.

Gayatri: Thank you so much, Jennie. It's really nice to be here.

Jennie: So before we get started, do you want to take a quick second and introduce yourself, including your pronouns?

Gayatri: Sure. Uh, my name is Gayatri Patel. I am the Director of Gender Advocacy at CARE USA. My pronouns are she/her.

Jennie: Awesome. So I'm really excited to talk to you today about gender-based violence. I feel like it's something we haven't talked about on the show recently, and it's so important.

Gayatri: It's incredibly important and I love talking about GBV, so thank you for having me.

Jennie: So I guess maybe before we get like, into all of it, we should probably start with the really basic to make sure everybody is on the same page. We're going to say GBV a lot instead of gender-based violence. Just, it's so much easier to say GBV and faster. Um, but what is GBV?

Gayatri: Sure. Well, I mean, I think at the very basic level, GBV is harm of any sort perpetrated against a person on the basis of their gender or their gender characteristics. So, examples of GBV include things like rape or other forms of sexual violence, domestic or intimate partner violence, some forms of human trafficking, child marriage, but then other forms that you wouldn't necessarily expect like psychological violence, like harassment or controlling behavior or economic abuse such as restricting access to financial resources. So, it's, it's really that kind of harm that's based on gender or sex or gender characteristics. And it's, you know, most often committed against women and girls, but it's really important to know that boys, men, people of other gender identities or perceived gender identities can also be targeted based on their gender or sex. It's really kind of a universal issue.

Jennie: Yeah. That's really important to dig out like all of the aspects of it. Cause I think most people, when they hear it, maybe only think of intimate partner violence or sexual assault, but there is a lot more that falls under gender-based violence than just those very important part.

Gayatri: Yeah. I mean, and part of it, I think it's really important to understand is that it's, it's not something that's committed because of sex. It's something that's really committed as an act of dominance. It's a, it's a reflection of, you know, power imbalances and the need to control. And unfortunately, it also means that when, when people are subjected to gender-based violence, their concerns, their, the harm committed against them, it's also often discounted because it's, you know, it's not considered serious or it's so normalized that it's considered not so much of a big deal, but it really is a big deal. And it does have really deep and strong and enduring impacts on those who've survived it.

Jennie: So now that we know what it is, maybe we should talk about what gender-based violence looks like globally, just to kind of get an idea of the scope of what we're talking about-- because a lot of women, but I mean, not just women, but I think a lot of the data is tends to be focused on women are impacted by it.

Gayatri: Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a common misunderstanding that GBV or, you know, specific things like child marriage or human trafficking or things that happen somewhere else, not in the United States or not to rich people or not to people of a particular religion. It's really something that's incredibly universal. It happens regardless of what country you're in, what social or economic class you're in, you know, what religion you follow, what your economic status is, et cetera. It's something that's so pervasive that one in three women have reported experiencing some form of gender-based violence. And this is actually likely under-reported due to some of the stigma they, they face or the, the lack of access to reporting mechanisms. And so, it's, you know, one in three women, it's quite alarming, but what it means, you know, in practice: one girl every two seconds will be married before the age of 18, or 137 women are killed by a family member every day or, um, you know, one in 10 women in the European Union report experiencing cyber harassment. It's incredibly, I don't want to say common cause I don't want to normalize it. This is not an, it's not something that we should kind of feel is commonplace, but it's something that is a very common lived experience of people all around the world. And it's something that we have to address as a common issue, not something that is happens over “there” and we don't need to worry about it.

Jennie: Yeah. I think that's so true. Like you said, one in three women have experienced it and that's globally. And it's just so devastating to think that it is, so you're right, common's not the right word to use, but so every day, like for sure multiple people, you know, probably have experienced this and you know, something that is not talked about a ton, there is still a little bit of that stigma around it, which is just this like extra weight that people have to carry.

Gayatri: Absolutely. I mean the impacts I think are so under-internalized people don't really get just how deeply gender-based violence can impact someone. It's, you know, of course physical harm. You can have bruises, you can, you know, feel physical injuries from the violence there's, psycho-social harms, you know, feelings of depression, feelings of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Um, there are feelings of isolation. You can have a hard time getting through the day or completing basic tasks like taking care of your family. And so, the impacts are very internal and very centric on the person who has experienced the violence, but it all also has ripple effects out if, you know, if, if that person can't function during the day. And I think we as advocates and the policymakers that we advocate towards really need to understand that, you know, this is not something that we can treat on the surface. It's something that requires changing the root causes of it. And then also providing real sustainable and comprehensive support to survivors.

Jennie: Yeah, because it has real lasting impacts, right, on economic participation and empowerment. You know, if a girl is married young that has real lasting impacts on her life, maybe even her health, if you know, she gets pregnant early, she has a higher risk of experiencing maternal mortality. Um, these have real impacts.

Gayatri: Yeah. I mean the correlation between child marriage, intimate partner violence and contraction of a sexually transmitted infection is like a straight line. I don't actually have the statistic available. I'm sorry about that. But it's such a, a co-functioning process that, you know, we really need to look at all stages of it and really see it as a continuum of, we have to address child marriage, we have to address the effects of it. And we have to address the secondary impacts on the people around them.

Jennie: Well, it goes back to what you were talking about with power, right? Like if a girl is married young, she is already at a huge disadvantage for power in that relationship as a person. And then that, you know, can snowball into all these other areas, right? Where you see intimate partner violence is a power dynamic. And if that person is already having so much less power coming in, like it just kind of snowballs on it.

Gayatri: Exactly. And it doesn't have to be like, you know, a physically violent thing. It could be as simple as restricting the child brides from leaving the home, or, you know, controlling their access to technology, controlling their access to family resources and funds. There are so many different ways that children in child marriages can be abused.

Jennie: Yeah. So I know you spend a lot of your time working on both child marriage and GBV, and often there's a lot of overlap, but there is also a lot of siloing, right? There's like GBV conversations and then child marriage conversations. And it's nice to see some of that starting to come down as people start talking about GBV in this broader sense and like understanding the dynamics of it because there is, that is just something you see, especially in a lot of things, but especially in foreign assistance, is the siloing of issues.

Gayatri: Yeah, absolutely. I think part of that is a tendency to focus on adults and kind of this newer, this newer effort to bring more attention to the needs and rights of adolescent girls is so critically important. It's such a critically important time in a, in a female’s life. And its, adolescence is around the time that they might be taken out of school or married or sent to work. And yet, they're not seen as adults and in their communities or in society yet, they're not given the support that a child would normally get. And so there's a lot going on there. And so addressing child marriage, addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights, addressing access to education, dealing with the particular consequences and impacts of, you know, something like a humanitarian emergency on an adolescent girl is really important. They do need specialized attention as like, you know, a population of concern, but it, it does need to be seen in this broader light of it's based on their gender. And women will likely face some form of violence or abuse or exploitation at various stages of their lives. And it's because of gender inequality at the very root of it and the social norms that kind of manifest this gender inequality. So for, for advocates like us, for practitioners, for people who work in these communities, working to kind of upend those social norms or disrupt those inequalities or those stereotypes is just, it's incredibly important because I don't think we'll get to kind of sustainable lasting change until we address those issues.

Jennie: Oh, for sure. I mean, if we're not getting to the root causes, then it's just kind of a band-aid, right? You're just addressing the harm after it happens in a lot of cases.

Gayatri: Yeah, exactly. And you're not looking at how it's, you know, the, the longer-term impacts to yeah, we, we do need to, we need to do better in terms of our laws and our policies and how we, how we interact with survivors and support survivors. We need to make sure that we're focusing on the long-term while we're addressing the immediate and short-term injuries. Jennie: So you mentioned humanitarian settings and that is a special case, right? Because we often see a big uptick in instances of gender-based violence in a humanitarian situation.

Gayatri: Unfortunately. Yes. I mean, gender-based violence of all forms tends to go up in a humanitarian crisis, domestic violence or intimate partner violence is the most prevalent form of gender-based violence in a humanitarian emergency. But you also see a rise in child marriage, largely because girls are taken out of school when they're displaced or parents are seeing it as kind of a protective mechanism, they can protect their daughter by marrying her to a safer, more stable family. You see human trafficking rise because it becomes a crime of opportunity, but the domestic violence or intimate partner violence is kind of an interesting and really tragic case. Cause, you know, what you're seeing is kind of an exacerbation of previously happening trends, but in the middle of a crisis, there's chaos. There's displacement. There's, you know, a breaking apart of family structures and traditional social support structures, and people are stressed out and they take it out using violence. And so, you know, some of the work that my organization CARE has done, has seen that in some contexts, as many as 70% of a population in a humanitarian crisis has experienced domestic violence or some other form of gender-based violence. And that's astounding if you think about it, I mean, 70% of a particular group of people having experienced gender-based violence, it's a crisis in and of itself. And I think COVID, for instance, is really kind of highlighting that.

Jennie: So that is shocking. And I feel like I might have known that but am shocked all over again. Like I didn't, like, 70% is just a mindbogglingly large number.

Gayatri: Yes it is. And unfortunately, I mean, I think we're getting better at identifying it and kind of closing some of the risk factors that make it such a, a thing. But I mean, that's the nature of domestic or intimate partner violence. It happens behind closed doors. It's not easy to see. And it's so normalized that even if you do see it out in public, does it affect you the same way as it should enough to make you want to do something about it? And so I think what we've been trying to do through legislation through bringing more attention to these kinds of situations where GBV is going up in emergencies is to really focus attention on how we can close those gaps, how we can make sure that humanitarian responders are equipped and has the expertise to, to look for what those risk factors are to prevent violence before it's happening to respond swiftly, to trends of GBV, to support survivors and humanitarian crises. That's not a given; you have an emphasis on providing the very immediate lifesaving needs, addressing the psychosocial impacts of domestic violence or sexual assault in a humanitarian emergency may not bubble up to be one of the top priorities yet. It's so incredibly important to people's lives. And so we, we really do need to bring more attention to it and bring more leadership and funding and resources to it.

Jennie: So I think it's really important to turn to one of the other things you mentioned, and that is what is happening during COVID and what are we seeing what's happening?

Gayatri: We're seeing unfortunately, exactly what we thought we would, which is a dramatic increase in gender-based violence, primarily domestic and intimate partner violence and child marriage, and FGM--female genital mutilation. And it's largely because the conditions are all there. There was that preexisting gender inequality that made, you know, things like domestic violence, a thing, but then you throw in that people's movements are restricted due to stay at home measures. And so they're literally trapped in a home with their abusers. You see people losing their jobs or their livelihoods or their economic independence. So they become dependent on their abusers and continue in those relationships. You see girls being taken out of school or, you know, schools are closed. So girls and children are out of school, so they're more available to be abused. And interestingly, schools were a source of information for children and a source of kind of support being able to report abuse that they would be experiencing at home or in the public, they would have the ability, or at least many of them would have the ability to report that through their teachers or through school mechanisms. That avenue is close to them. And so they're not getting the support that they need. So it's, the conditions are kind of right for that. And we're seeing arise a dramatic rise in gender-based violence around the world as a result of the pandemic.

Jennie: Yeah. And I think that's really important to, again, emphasize that again, it's not just in developing countries that we're seeing this it's around the world. It's everywhere that we are seeing this increase in gender-based violence.

Gayatri: Yeah. I mean, I think that some of the earliest reports we were seeing were coming out of countries like France, where calls to their domestic violence hotlines had skyrocketed in the first couple of months of the pandemic. Countries, like the United States, with same thing. So we really do have to look at it as this is, this is a universal issue and we kind of have to address it for what it is, not just address it as like a, a cultural thing that happened somewhere else.

Jennie: I have to say the one thing that is nice about this is that we are seeing the alarms being raised, like almost immediately, like as soon as this was happening, we started seeing groups being like, “Hey, we need to watch out for this.” It is already happening. And seeing those conversations happening much sooner than they have in previous crises.

Gayatri: Yeah. I mean, I noticed that too, my organization CARE, we do rapid gender analysis, and this is a tool that we use for all of the humanitarian situations that we work in. But with COVID we did it almost immediately. And since then, we've produced maybe 60 rapid gender analyses, looking at the different ways that this particular crisis is impacting different genders differently. So men, women, boys, girls, other genders, to kind of surface, what are the key risk factors? What are the things that women are experiencing? And girls experiencing GBV was almost immediately one of the things that we were able to detect. And we really put a lot of emphasis around bringing attention to that. It's not necessarily something that anyone was really thinking about outside of the GBV community or outside of the gender equality community. And I, you know, I'm really, I'm really grateful that people with big platforms like the UN Secretary General himself, were able to also raise the alarm and get people thinking about this. But unfortunately, the reality is that we could be thinking about it. We could know that it's happening, but are we able to address it? I think that's where we're falling short.

Jennie: Yeah. Unfortunately, I feel like that's a too common theme with a lot of things, right?

Gayatri: Yeah. Especially in this context because I mean, there's so much emphasis and necessary emphasis on stopping the spread of the disease, but what does that mean for everything else around like, you know, the, the traditional, uh, reporting mechanisms or referral mechanisms for GBV or shutting down people weren't allowed outside of their homes. So they weren't allowed to access the support they needed necessary medical services were being diverted or, you know, more heavily focused on the pandemic and the medical prices. They're not necessarily looking at the GBV crisis. And one incredibly important thing, which I think we often overlook is that women were not by and large part of the decision-making around COVID responses at, you know, local and national regional levels. They, we at CARE, did a study where I think something like 75% of the government kind of decision-making bodies had no women or, you know, a very small percentage of women. And so of course the responses are not necessarily going to meet the needs of women and girls who, things like GBV that disproportionally impacts them. And we need to look not just at what we're doing in response, but how we're making decisions about the responses. And that's a place where women and girls and those who are really strongly impacted by the crisis need to have their voices heard.

Jennie: Yeah. It's hard to focus on an issue and what needs to be done on the ground if they're not even part of the conversation.

Gayatri: Exactly.

Jennie: So, you know, we've talked a lot about the issue, but maybe we should take a second and talk about what do the survivors need?

Gayatri: Yeah, that's a really important question. There's so many things in each, each survivor is different. Each set of needs is different, but I think by and large, making available support services like medical care, psychosocial care, particularly sexual and reproductive health and rights services. So things like post-exposure prophylaxis or, you know, a whole host of, of medical and psychosocial interventions there that, that get at some of the authority HR aspects of gender based violence, particularly for survivors of sexual violence and adolescent girls are high, you know, very much up there, but I think at its heart, we need to ask the survivor herself or himself that, you know, what is it that they need? What is it that they want a lot of the times it's as simple as they need a job or they need, you know, some way to get away from their abuser yet they're economically dependent on them. They need legal services. So I think, you know, having that emphasis on things like reproductive health or access to job opportunities, access to legal services, immediate crisis counseling, long-term psychosocial services are all incredibly important. And part of this kind of package of comprehensive responses to GBV.

Jennie: Yeah. I, I really like how you frame that because I think so often it gets political so fast when we talk about needing reproductive health services, but focusing on what the survivors want and what the survivors need, I think is so important. And, and that should be the bottom line.

Gayatri: Absolutely. I mean, the one thing that I learned is one, when I was doing crisis counseling, is that a, it's never the survivor's fault. And you just have to validate their feelings and validate how, how they've experienced the abuse that they've endured it's about them and what they need. And I think we really need to centralize that.

Jennie: So, you know, let's turn to the new administration. So president Biden has a real history of being passionate and caring about issues around gender-based violence. What, what do you hope to see from this new administration? What are some things that you would love to see them do?

Gayatri: Yeah, it's really a breath of fresh air to be able to, to talk about actual policy options for gender-based violence. And because President Biden has been such a champion on these issues, I really see it as an opening, as an opportunity for us to do something positive and to push the envelope. What we saw was. a week ago, two weeks ago, with the executive order establishing the White House Gender Policy Council was a particular emphasis on gender-based violence. The idea that there needs to be a national action plan on GBV, that there needs to be an update of the previous us strategy to prevent or respond to GBV globally. The fact that there will be a senior level position on the council that is focused on GBV. I think there's a really positive signs and really big opportunities for this administration to advance this work. So, you know, really looking forward to working with the administration on that, to shape how they carry out this work and really hope that, you know, civil society is a large part of it, which the EO also gave a nod to, um, that women who are survivors or people who are survivors are part of that process and, and really included in some of the thinking and decision making around that. But really, we need funding. I mean, that's, that's a universal thing, right? We need the programs, we need the, the resources to be able to address this. So, you know, the, the coalition that I co-chair along with partners from Amnesty International, and you know, a whole host of organizations, I think it's 180 civil society organizations together, are really [emphasizing] the need for the right structures. Like what the Gender Policy Council executive order started to lay out, but also the need for resources and for having, you know, if, if nothing else, at least just a standalone fund where we can, you know, program around GBV around the world. And it's not this process of like getting crumbs from, for this program and this program and double counting things, and we need a concerted effort.

Jennie: Yeah. It is really a breath of fresh air to be able to think so positively and like kind of dream big for what we would like to see that we just haven't been able to do for a while.

Gayatri: Exactly. I mean, if I can be political for a moment, it, this issue is really politicized in the previous administration in a way that was harmful to the issue. And I think having this administration kind of pivot in the complete opposite direction is really gratifying for, I mean, maybe that's not the best word, it's an opportunity. And we want to take that opportunity with two hands.

Jennie: So we always like to wrap up by because our issues are often fairly heavy, uh, with focusing on what, what can the audience do? What actions can our audience take. If they care about GBV, what can they do to help?

Gayatri: Um, they can call their member of Congress. There, there's a number of bills, legislation floating around to address gender-based violence. In fact, I think this week, the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act is being discussed in Congress. And that deals with domestic violence against women issues. There's a counterpart, a global counterpart called the International Violence Against Women Act. There's also a bill that my organization has prioritized called the Keeping Women and Girls Safe from the Start Act in the Senate and the House... So call your members of Congress, tell them this is a priority for you. And you want them to use their platforms to speak up about these issues. It does not need to be political. It's a bi-partisan issue. Addressing violence against people is not something that needs to be one party or the other. This is around the time that Congress is thinking about how to appropriate money. And we want strong funding for GVB programs around the world. And we know that the President is thinking about it and his administration. We know Congress is thinking about it. So when you're calling your members of Congress, signal that you think that this should be a priority, but other than that in your day-to-day life, you can volunteer. I mean, I used to volunteer with an organization called RAINN, which is the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network. And they run hotlines and online hotlines for crisis support. You don't have to be an expert. You can just be someone who cares and is willing to do the training it takes to be a volunteer, but it's a really, you know, a really positive way to volunteer your time for something that you feel strongly about. But there are other organizations that do support services for survivors work with at-risk youth. So, so volunteering or donating is also always welcome.

Jennie: Gayatri, I had so much fun talking to you today about a very heavy issue. So thank you so much for being here.

Gayatri: Thank you so much for having this discussion. It's so great to be able to talk about GBV more and really wanting to encourage your supporters to care about this issue. There's so much to do and so much to say, but really appreciate you for having me on and for having this discussion.

Jennie: Oh, so much fun. Thank you.

Gayatri: Thank you.

Jennie: Okay, everybody. I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Gayatri. I thought it was really good. You know, as always, I learn a lot, some of the numbers, she talks about people suffering, gender-based violence. It's always shocking when you hear that and it should never not be shocking, but someday, hopefully those numbers will come down. And with that, just know, you can always reach out to us.

Jennie: Thanks for listening everyone. And we'll see you on our next episode of RePROS Fight Back. For more information, including show notes from this episode and previous episodes, please visit our website at reprosfightback.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter at RePROS Fight Back, or on Instagram at reprosfb. If you like our show, please help others find it by sharing it with your friends and subscribing, rating and reviewing us on iTunes. Thanks for listening.

take action