More than 150 people attend Celebration of Women
NORWICH – More than 150 people came out in support of Catholic Charities sixth annual Celebration of Women, held at the Howard Johnson’s ballroom Thursday night.
The evening, which included live music, dancing, free massages, manicures and hair styling, informational booths on health, beauty, nutrition and representatives from local businesses, was held to celebrate the accomplishments of women and to raise awareness about sexual assault and violence.
New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Executive Director Jane McEwen addressed the crowd, calling crimes against women an “atrocious human rights violation that must be stopped.” In addition to the direct impact of sexual violence, McEwen said it is also a major cause of poverty.
“Women in America represent more than one half of the 37 million people living in poverty, and the gap in poverty rates is wider in America than anywhere else in the western world. We need to work together to stop this,” McEwen said.
She explained that one in six women and one in 33 men will be the victim of attempted or completed rape, and that crimes against children under the age of six make up 14 percent of all rapes or sexual assaults. McEwen called on the community and all those in attendance to help bring an end to the problem of sexual assault. “We need to speak up and make sexual assault able to be talked about. We need to scream that this is not acceptable in Chenango County. It’s not a women’s problem. It’s the community’s problem,” she said.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Garry also attended Thursday’s event and addressed the crowd with a message of hope. Despite the high numbers of crimes against women and children reported in the news everyday, Garry said she believes those crime rates are not on the rise, but rather that we as a country are dealing with it.
“It was only 30 years ago that women gathered together in grassroots organizations and said enough,” Garry said. “It wasn’t elected officials, but women that stepped forward.” Garry continued to say that it wasn’t until 15 years ago that New York State passed the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act, and during that same year, 1994, the federal government passed the federal Violence Against Women Act.
“It’s not that these crimes are occurring at a greater rate,” Garry said, “but that as a society, we’ve decided this is where we draw the line.” Garry explained that within the last year, further legislation has been passed to expand orders of protection to recognize families as they actually exist.
“It’s the job of each of us, to come together and work toward making this a better place for the next generation,” Garry said.
The evening, which included live music, dancing, free massages, manicures and hair styling, informational booths on health, beauty, nutrition and representatives from local businesses, was held to celebrate the accomplishments of women and to raise awareness about sexual assault and violence.
New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Executive Director Jane McEwen addressed the crowd, calling crimes against women an “atrocious human rights violation that must be stopped.” In addition to the direct impact of sexual violence, McEwen said it is also a major cause of poverty.
“Women in America represent more than one half of the 37 million people living in poverty, and the gap in poverty rates is wider in America than anywhere else in the western world. We need to work together to stop this,” McEwen said.
She explained that one in six women and one in 33 men will be the victim of attempted or completed rape, and that crimes against children under the age of six make up 14 percent of all rapes or sexual assaults. McEwen called on the community and all those in attendance to help bring an end to the problem of sexual assault. “We need to speak up and make sexual assault able to be talked about. We need to scream that this is not acceptable in Chenango County. It’s not a women’s problem. It’s the community’s problem,” she said.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Garry also attended Thursday’s event and addressed the crowd with a message of hope. Despite the high numbers of crimes against women and children reported in the news everyday, Garry said she believes those crime rates are not on the rise, but rather that we as a country are dealing with it.
“It was only 30 years ago that women gathered together in grassroots organizations and said enough,” Garry said. “It wasn’t elected officials, but women that stepped forward.” Garry continued to say that it wasn’t until 15 years ago that New York State passed the Family Protection and Domestic Violence Intervention Act, and during that same year, 1994, the federal government passed the federal Violence Against Women Act.
“It’s not that these crimes are occurring at a greater rate,” Garry said, “but that as a society, we’ve decided this is where we draw the line.” Garry explained that within the last year, further legislation has been passed to expand orders of protection to recognize families as they actually exist.
“It’s the job of each of us, to come together and work toward making this a better place for the next generation,” Garry said.
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