Twenty-four percent of all crimes reported to Devonshire and Cornwall police are instances of domestic violence. One in three men and women will be beaten or raped during their lifetime.
These sobering truths helped to inspire the performers of Eve Ensler’s “A Memory, A Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer“, a show that was held on Valentine’s Day as part of the worldwide One Billion Rising campaign to raise awareness about the oppression of women. A series of monologues about all forms of violence against women – physical, sexual and emotional – the show was successful in highlighting that violence is an issue that affects everyone.
The first monologue focused on the daily tasks that many women around the world have to fulfil and the potentially demoralising impact of this often unrecognised work. When the monologue was over, the performer sat a little apart from the others, perhaps with the implication that the nature of her role prevented her from connecting with other people affected by restrictive gender stereotyping.
The emotional impact of being worn down by a seemingly inescapable situation was also discussed with regards to domestic violence in the monologue that began “I was a woman split in two”. Many who suffer abuse and trauma disassociate themselves from it, but eventually the character told herself “you don’t deserve this” and broke away from the cycle of abuse.
The moment of breakthrough was also highlighted in a chillingly well-acted account of gang rape. The performer juxtaposed the characters’ helplessness when casual, jokey flirting turned sinister (leading to girls feeling they ought “not to make a big deal out of nothing” if they are touched against their will) and her empowerment having fought against this abuse.
This performance was later contextualised by the shocking statistic that a third of young women and a quarter of young men think that violence is acceptable. The character portrayed had suffered varying forms of sexual abuse before, always telling herself it was “easier just to let it happen”, an attitude it can be easy for anyone to take if the other person involved is drunk or someone we know.
A third of young women and a quarter of young men think that violence is acceptable.
I have to admit that this was one of the stories that brought me to the brink of tears. I don’t know how many young people were reached by the One Billion Rising campaign, but it seems hugely important that we begin to reflect on these ideas. This is my one criticism of the campaign if not the performance itself: there was an air of preaching to the choir. Perhaps with better publicity far more students would have engaged with it.
One of the strongest aspects of this performance was that it didn’t fall into the trap of pigeon-holing issues of violence as something that only affects women. One monologue presented a man’s recollection of his father beating his mother with part of a cardboard wardrobe. Set in America during the Great Depression, this story suggested that poverty and marginalisation – the family presented were eastern-European immigrants – can lead to more oppression and abuse. Intersectionality is a key tenet of current gender equality movements and this was a clear and effective way of highlighting how, to some extent, tackling broader social issues could contribute towards improving equality.
Another positive aspect was that the performance addressed issues affecting women worldwide rather than just familiar and local examples of violence. One monologue told the absolutely chilling tale of Nun running a boarding school in Uganda in which girls and boys were taken by rebel militia to be systematically used and indoctrinated. This was entirely believable, right down to the details of how hardened children’s hands and feet become after years of walking and fighting with armed groups.
Another story told of a journalist’s regret at not saving two young girls from a brothel in Cambodia because “journalists don’t get involved”. Given that One Billion Rising aims for action on these issues rather than passive comment, this was an effective way of highlighting that suffering affects everyone and is therefore for everyone to fight against.
Suffering affects everyone and is therefore for everyone to fight against.
The final monologue brought these issues back to a more familiar setting with the story of a young woman accused of “spoiling the party” for talking about the abuse suffered every day by women and other marginalised groups across the world.
Exeter has recently been commented on in the national press as a university where the party has got a bit out of hand. We will only be able to shake off this reputation if we note the messages of campaigns like One Billion Rising and take the opportunities available to us, as a group of intelligent, energetic individuals with a good education, to achieve something positive.
By Helena Bennett
exeposedev 