The Singer is the Song…The Silence is Over
The Singer is the Song…The Silence is Over
Troy Westwood, storied singer-songwriter, Little Hawk, has a message for men: staying silent about violence against women makes you a part of the problem. He tells them: take action now. Take responsibility to end violence against our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and every woman we do not know, she who is still a part of us.
And Troy is not standing alone with his message. Read this edition of Women Making Waves, which, for the first time in its 25-year history, opens its pages to the voices of men who are working – not pledging – but working to end violence against women.
Byron Hurt, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer and an anti-sexist activist, writes about the first time he spoke out against men’s violence against women. His work continues. Dennis Danforth Jr, a member of the Oneida First Nation, describes how he teaches children to honour and respect women and, through his work with Masc Magazine, encourages men to accept that they bear the largest responsibility to end violence against women. Sebastian Roberts’ life was transformed through a personal tragedy leading him to work in Africa where he came to understand that “Sexism is an invisible plague that is taking the lives of women around the world.” He intends to return to Africa to do his part to end, “this chauvinistic madness.”
Over the past two years, Battered Women’s Support Services has worked within communities of men to welcome them into the movement to end violence against women. In this issue of Women Making Waves, we report on the power of men’s commitment to anti-violence work.
