Ambassador's Interviews
The Violence against Women Is a Grotesque Crime
Nancy McEldowney
U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria
Exclusively for Trud Daily
Each of us has cherished memories of the women who have shaped our lives. Grandmothers who nurtured family traditions. Mothers who guided us though life’s early challenges. Sisters and wives with whom we shared our hopes and fears. For many of us, our proudest moments have been the triumphs of our daughters. The women in our lives have given us guidance and love and inspiration – invaluable treasures – and in return we want the very best for them.
But the tragic reality is that far too many women’s lives are scarred by violence. Every day someone’s mother, sister, daughter or friend is brutalized in horrific ways. Violence against women exists all over the world, and it comes in many forms.
For many women, the place where they ought to feel the most safe – their own home – is in fact dangerous. Domestic violence happens behind closed doors, making it easy to dismiss as a private issue. Violence in the home ruptures families, as victims flee for their safety. Children who are exposed to domestic violence also suffer both physical and psychological trauma.
Outside the home, the threat is even greater. Human trafficking, forced prostitution and rape are crimes against women that are perpetrated in every country. But the victims are not women alone. For our communities and entire nations suffer the social and economic consequences of this violence.
Eliminating violence against women around the world is an urgent problem that we must come together to solve. Bulgaria and the United States are working hard to expand our cooperation to stop these crimes. We have made important progress on the particularly grotesque crime of human trafficking – a form of human slavery in which teenagers and young adults are forced to work as prostitutes. But our work is not done until we have eradicated this crime completely. We’ll continue to work together to protect victims and improve law enforcement efforts to bring the down the criminal network of traffickers.
Today, as we commemorate the International Day to End Violence Against Women, we should pledge to work for a world without violence for the women of tomorrow. We owe it to ourselves and to our daughters.