International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women: A Call to Truth, Light, and Self-Love
Today, November 25, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — the beginning of the global 16 Days of Activism campaign that runs until December 10.
This day honors the Mirabal sisters, three courageous women assassinated in 1960 for resisting a violent regime. Their legacy reminds us that women’s safety, dignity, and freedom have always required both courage and collective truth-telling.
This year’s theme calls attention to digital violence against women and girls — online harassment, cyberbullying, deepfake exploitation, and the ways technology is increasingly weaponized to silence, shame, or intimidate women. Digital abuse is real, rising, and often dismissed.
But digital violence is only the newest branch of a very old tree.
I grew up rooted in that same tree — one watered by fear, control, rage, and silence.
I watched my mother endure violence.
I watched a male family member torment the women he dated.
I watched him direct that same violence and terror toward me through choking, hitting, threats, and psychological torment.
And even though I told myself I was “too tough,” “too smart,” or “too badass” to ever be abused, in my thirties, I fell into the exact pattern I swore I would escape.
Not because of ignorance.
Not because of weakness.
But because I had never been taught self-love strong enough to break generational cycles.
When a girl is raised in violence, she learns survival — not self-worth.
She learns how to endure — not how to honor herself.
And she learns that men’s harm is expected… but her pain is negotiable.
That is systemic abuse.
It shapes individuals, families, cultures, and entire nations.
We see it today in the way society reacts — or fails to react — when powerful men are accused of sexual assault, caught harming their partners, or recorded bragging about violating women. Many maintain influence, praise, money, and public support.
We see it in our nation’s willingness to align with leaders and governments who criminalize women for being raped, restrict their freedoms, or treat women as property.
When men with the largest platforms diminish, normalize, or excuse violence —
it tells the world that women’s bodies are optional, women’s safety is conditional, and women’s suffering is irrelevant.
This is not a partisan issue.
It is a human issue.
And we are slipping into a culture that is increasingly comfortable with the discomfort of women —
a culture where violence is entertainment, silence is rewarded, and accountability is selective.
But here is the deeper truth:
Violence against women is not inevitable.
It is learned.
It is taught.
And it can be dismantled.
I share my story not to reopen wounds but to light a path.
Because every time a woman speaks her truth, she interrupts a cycle.
Every time she names what happened to her, she softens the shame that was never hers to carry.
Every time she returns to her light, she shows another woman that she can, too.
Today is a day of global recognition — but for many of us, it is also deeply personal.
It is a call to awareness, accountability, advocacy…
and to self-love as an act of resistance.
If no one ever told you this, let me say it clearly:
You are so loved.
You deserve safety, tenderness, respect, and peace.
Your light was never meant to be dimmed by anyone — not in your home, not online, not in society.
May this day awaken truth.
May it spark courage.
And may it help each of us return, again and again, to the light that was always ours.
Author’s Note:
I support women in their prime who feel disconnected from themselves, overwhelmed by expectations, or stuck in numbing patterns like alcohol, food, or over-functioning. My work isn’t about fixing what’s “wrong,” but guiding you back to your light — your truth, your peace, your wisdom, and your sense of possibility. You can begin this journey through my articles, my books, our group circles, or one-to-one work. Wherever you start, just remember: you are so loved.
