The following Blog was written by Alice Ruxton who is the Communications and Advocacy Support Officer at the UNIFEM (part of UN Women) East and Southeast Asia Sub-Regional Office in Bangkok. She is participating in the Australian Youth Ambassador Program.

As a young woman working on gender issues, I often grapple with the issue of how we can end violence against women and girls. Even though I work for an organization that works to end violence against women, studied gender at university and have read many books and articles on the topic, I never cease to be utterly shocked at how pervasive and extreme violence against women and girls is throughout the world. 

For me, ending violence against women requires individual action and the challenging of power relations between men and women, particularly beginning at a young age. Whilst human rights conventions, laws, policies and campaigns are critical for ending violence against women and girls, individual and community action is essential to affect real change. It was therefore so exciting to hear HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha and Thai Prime Minister Abhisit reflect this sentiment in their speeches at the launch of Asia-Pacific UNiTE in Bangkok on 25 November 2010.

Asia-Pacific UNiTE is the regional component of the United Nations Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women (http://www.un.org/en/women/endviolence/index.shtml).

At the launch, Prime Minister Abhisit said, “Apart from offering moral and rhetorical support, we all have to take concrete action to end impunity and to make fundamental changes to the existing unequal power structure”.

HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha echoed this sentiment stating, “We will not successfully end violence against women, unless we substitute the mindset of masculinity with one of gender sensitivity”. HRH has served as a UNIFEM (part of UN Women) Goodwill Ambassador for Say NO UNiTE in Thailand since 2008.

The launch of Asia-Pacific UNiTE was attended by over 600 people including representatives from the diplomatic community, the Thai Government, civil society, UN agencies, media and students. The event included a number of performances including the reading of the poem ‘I got flowers today’, which was extremely moving and chilling, and had a profound effect on many of those in the audience.

I got flowers today.
I got flowers today.
It wasn’t my birthday
or any special day.
We had our first argument last night,
and he said a lot of cruel things
that really hurt me.
I know he is sorry
and didn’t mean the things he said
because he sent me flowers today.
 
I got flowers today.
It wasn’t our anniversary
or any other special day.
Last night, he threw me into a wall
and started to choke me.
It seemed like a nightmare.
I couldn’t believe it was real.
I know he must be sorry
because he sent me flowers today.
 
I got flowers today,
and it wasn’t Mother’s Day
or any other special day.
Last night, he beat me up again.
If I leave him, what will I do?
How will I take care of my kids?
What about money?
I’m afraid of him and scared to leave.
But I know he must be sorry
because he sent me flowers today.
 
I got flowers today.
Today was a very special day.
It was the day of my funeral.
Last night, he finally killed me.
If only I had gathered enough courage
and strength to leave him,
I would not have gotten flowers today.

© 1992 by Paulette Kelly