My dear shame.
You who made me feel bad,
damaged, different, alone.
Because I had no words for you,
only a silent rule not to speak.
That rule was hit into me with physical
human power, with the power of words,
with financial power, with sexual power,
with humiliation, with smearing,
by taking away the rights of autonomy,
with infidelity, all of this being intertwined into spirituality,
turning the beauty
brought by one's own faith
into violence against oneself,
creating spiritual violence.
The silence of my shame
was thrust upon me by actions
that were not my fault,
but crossing the lines of human dignity
always leads to shame.
My shame, you grew so big
that I couldn't see myself anymore
and I was even ashamed of my own shame.
I lost my self, my needs,
my feelings, my strength, my gifts.
All that was left
was a quivering straw frozen by winter,
which could snap at any moment
if it didn't last until spring.
But spring came, the sun melted
with its warmth and life began to appearin the beach straw,
its strong roots helped pass the winter.
Life force, it is in our roots, those roots are in all of us,
when we only get our shame visible in the light of spring,
the heat of the sun to melt the frost of the nutrient-rich earth,
freedom is born to grow in the light, without shame.
Flourish as the petals reach boldly into the blue sky.
I forgive myself for being ashamed of my own shame,
I understood that it was not my fault.
I forgive myself for being a frozen straw on the beach,
I didn't know how to influence the conditions in the climate.
But I thank you light, for coming to melt
with the rays of your peer-supporting words,
to help me see myself as me.
I started painting a new growth, my kind.
I started painting a new growth,
the peer-supporting kind like you.
Shame melted into a fertilizer for my growth and a conscious force
about where I start and where I end,
there stands the boundary post of respect and it reads human rights.
Gratitude was born, love.
Shame takes us away from love, but in its right place helps us stay within love.
Violence has ugly traces, painful long traces,
that's why they have to be painted visible in all forms,
so that we can change them,
so that we can change.
Minna Pietarinen
2022
The right to safety and a life without violence
A life without violence or the fear of it is a basic right of every human being. Nevertheless, at least every third woman has to face physical or sexual violence during her life, which threatens the health, safety and even life of women and girls. Gender-based violence is a global pandemic with no end in sight. Although significant work is being done to prevent and end gender-based violence, hundreds of millions of women face violence every day, everywhere. Violence or the threat of it is present in private and public spaces, homes, streets, educational institutions, workplaces and online.
Ending gender-based violence is one of the top priorities of UN Women's work. As long as women and girls experience gender-based violence, their other fundamental rights are also constantly threatened. According to UN Women, more than 730 million women and girls over the age of 15 have experienced sexual or physical violence at least once in their lifetime, and this figure does not include sexual harassment. During 2020, 81,000 women and girls were killed violently. It means that every day more than 220 women and girls lose their lives to gender-based violence. Murder or manslaughter is the most extreme form of gender-based violence and is often preceded by long-term physical, sexual and/or mental violence. Some of the victims try to get help, but do not get it. Some do not dare to turn to the authorities because they are afraid that they will not be believed, or that they cannot be protected. Some do not know who to turn to - and too many who have experienced violence think that they themselves are responsible for the violence. The fact is, as long as even one woman loses her life to violence, we have failed as a society.
Violence against women is not about isolated cases or a private matter. Gender-based violence is a global, societal problem that threatens women's rights, status, health and even life. Violence must be addressed at all levels of society, all over the world. A life without violence is the right of every woman and girl.
UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. UN Women Finland is the Finnish National Committee of UN Women. The accompanying texts telling the stories of the women in the paintings and the rights that are depicted were written by Emma Winiecki, Head of Communications for UN Women Finland.
