What Does Equality Have To Do With Abuse?

So if The Risen Woman is a book by abused women, for abused women, what's with all the feminist equality articles floating around here? What does equality have to do with abuse?

The immediate answer to that is quite simple. People who are abusive behave that way to others that they think of as inferior, whether they realize it or not.  When we consider someone an equal, we are not in a position to dominate, and abuse isn't a factor.  It is when we feel an entitled superiority over another person that abuse happens. It is a control method, and it is absolutely unjust.

Abuse comes in many variations; from a rude attitude and comments to a restaurant server all the way to severe mental, physical and emotional abuse. It happens so often and at so many levels that we oftentimes may not even realize we're doing it. This calls for us to be truly mindful of our actions every day; they do have an effect on people we come into contact with.

It's a simple psychology, when two or more people are in company together, the first equation is, 'Who is in charge? What is my place and position?' and unless there is true and utter equality, there is always an elevated echelon of hierarchy.  This gives a perceived power to anyone who isn't at the bottom of the totem pole, and it opens the door to abuse.

Inequality and abuse know no defining parameters; male or female, race, religion, et al. It has to do with the lowest common denominator; the minority of the situation.  If you are one of a few, or the only person of your kind in any environment, you are at a higher risk for abuse. That's a natural law. There's safety in numbers.

The work of The Risen Woman centers around girls and women who've been abused or are in abusive situations, because being dominated will oftentimes convince the abused that they do not deserve better or that they cannot overcome their situation. By and large, their self-worth, self-esteem and self-confidence are in short supply.  The recurring themes in those are Self and Value. How believable is it that if we are consistently treated poorly, then we must have a lesser value, and when that ideology is mandated by one in a higher position, whether actual or perceived, it's often taken at face value. Everyone says so, so it must be true.

We are who we believe we are.

The Risen Woman is a work of experiences by women who were in a wide array of abusive situations, but who, because they disavowed the status quo, fought back against the abuse, broke free of it, and through strength grew to become successful. It is the purpose of these women to help others understand and discover their true worth and value, to inspire them to embrace confidence and change their lives for the better.  It's as simple as setting an example and lending a supportive hand. It's teaching people who are abused that they do indeed matter, that they have potential and that they can absolutely rise above their environment or situation and change it.

Something else truly wonderful happens when those changes take place. The abused can become active healthy contributors to society, and in time can help others heal and grow. It's a benefit that, as the seed of potential rests within each of us, begins to grow in a healthy environment and branches out to benefit others. Each has the ability to become an oak, when nurtured and healed.

This endeavor is imperative, for it has the potential to reach much further than anyone could ever comprehend. Every life that it touches in a positive way is well worth every effort of TRW to get to that life, but like everything else, this is subject to fundamental rules... an object at rest stays at rest (without funding, this goes nowhere) and an object in motion stays in motion (TRW is funded, TRW changes lives, which becomes a continuum for immeasurable change). 

Please be an active contributor to the growth of this endeavor, and donate to the fund that will bring it to fruition.  Broaden the circle of possibility and share this with others, so they may have an opportunity to help as well.

www.gofundme.com/The-Risen-Woman