I am angry because aggression and acts of violence against women happen in our shared reality, yet they are overlooked, as if framed within a different reality of their own, one from which they cannot be addressed directly. We deserve a world we can live in together, where we don’t need to say, ‘Yes, this happened to me too,’ or ‘Yes, I also know someone going through this.’ Safety must be a right, not a privilege. It pains me that it is so hard to begin talking about violence, that so often we don’t know how to create truly constructive dialogues, that the road toward (re)establishing a safe space is difficult and, at times, deeply discouraging.
Solutions unfold far too slowly across the terrain of simultaneous problems: laws are not strong enough, their enforcement is inadequate, civil society lacks sufficient resources, groups of friends and families often respond in harmful ways, and victims feel unable to hope for a safe future free of aggression or violence. Solutions come slowly, with hard work. But they do come—they must come—because an extraordinary force to speak and to fight is rising in those who have not yet lived the lives they deserved, and their allies are growing in number. We have (and need) Power.
The newspaper you now hold in your hands is our contribution to the dialogue about violence against women, to the work of building a world where each woman’s integrity is a priority and will no longer be harmed. The works of the 12 artists represent reactions to different forms of aggression, as well as gestures and strategies of healing and reclaiming personal safety—illustrating a collective effort to approach this subject both affectively and politically. We believe that art has the advantage of representing a safe shelter, even if not a comfortable one, both imagined and grounded in reality, from which we can honestly analyze the world and reflect with clarity on ways to transform it. We are stronger together, when we connect, understand, and support one another. We want to build and amplify healthy social models, based on dialogue and solidarity.
The contributions are accompanied by an extended dialogue with the founders of A.L.E.G., an organization active in combating and preventing violence against women and in promoting gender equality, made possible with the support of the artist Dan Perjovschi. On the following page, you can discover the association’s work over the last 20 years, some of its projects, as well as ways in which you can get involved.