Who Hears the Screams of Women?

A mission program we developed at Glide was a relationship with a school and clinic in one of the largest slums of Nairobi, Kenya. We returned to Kenya every 18 months, bringing new and returning mission team members as our commitment to our friends and their work deepened. We spent much of our time listening to our Kenyan friends share stories about their lives. We were always moved by their resilience and joy in the face of stark poverty and disease.

One story has haunted us every since it was shared. One of the women told us of the sexual violence women faced in the slum. Nighttime rain brought with it fear, because under the cover of rain and darkness, assaults increased. The heavy downpours created a cacophony of clatter as the rain pelted the tin roofs of their homes. This din masked the noise of men using machetes to cut through the corrugated tin walls and muffled the screams of women as they were raped.

The first time it rained while we were there, no one in our team slept. All we could do is think of this story, our dear friends, and the violence they faced.

It is raining in the United States. Who is hearing the screams of women?

Who hears the screams of Native American women?

Across the United States and Canada, Native American women and girls experience a violence at a higher proportion to the general population. There is an epidemic of missing and murdered Native women and girls (MMIWG), yet most go unfound, their cases unsolved. In 2016, there were 5712 reports of MMIWG yet only 116 cases were logged in the Department of Justice data base. The true number of women and girls missing and murdered is unknown. The forces of colonialism, sexism, and racism all conspire to prevent accurate reporting and response. The reality is these are mothers, daughters, aunts, nieces, friends. These are family members whose loved ones live with dreaded, heartbreaking questions.

Who hears the screams of trans women of color?

Trans women of color experience unemployment, homelessness, violence and homicide at alarming rates. Again, the intersections of oppression (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia) push these women to the margins where they are left vulnerable to exploitation and violence. While alive, society scorned them. In death, scorn and dehumanization often continue to happen, as they are misgendered when brought to a morgue. Identities  disregarded. Humanity ignored.

Who hears the screams of migrant women?

Women who flee violence from Central American countries find that violence often follows them. Many women are sexually assaulted as they journey to sanctuary in the US. Some are kidnapped and sold to sex traffickers. Once at the border, their children are often ripped from their arms and sent to separate ICE facilities. 

Who hears the screams of women who experience abuse in their own homes?

The fact is that many homes look more like battlefields, and women and children are often the most impacted. Some studies show that up to 30% of women experience violence in the home. Three women a day in the US are murdered by intimate partners. Many instances of domestic violence go unreported, as women fear to report because of the threat of more violence, homelessness, or death. 

Who hears the screams of women as our reproductive rights are stripped away?

In recent weeks, there has been an unprecedented attack on women’s reproductive freedom. Several state bills were passed that highly restricted—if not totally denied—access to abortion. Georgia passed a bill outlawing abortion after 6 weeks of conception—before most women even know they are pregnant—and Alabama even removed exceptions due to rape or incest from an anti-abortion bill. There is a steady and focused attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade which provided women the right to safe and legal abortion at a time when abortion is at an all time low. Currently, statistics show that 1 in 4 women have had an abortion. As a pastor, I know women who have struggled with the decision to have an abortion. They did not make the decision lightly but after much discernment and prayer. Making abortion illegal won’t end abortion, for there will still be situations which women will find it impossible to carry a fetus to term. What will happen is that women will turn to unsafe methods and places to have their abortions, and that poor women’s health will be especially impacted.

It is raining hard in Nairobi, on reservation lands, on treks to freedom. It is raining in homes across this country. It is raining hard in Georgia, Alabama, Ohio…women are crying out in pain, in mournful laments, in screams of suffering.

Who will hear?