Thirdway Human Rights and Development is launching a campaign to bring an end to sexual violence, particularly in India but ultimately worldwide. Recently, an obscene number of rapes and murders in India have made world news headlines. This is not a new issue but is now coming to our attention in full force.

During World War II, rape became a part of war culture. Eventually, action was taken, and rape was labeled a "crime against humanity"; however, it is painfully clear that making rape a crime has not been an effective deterrent. Sexual violence remains widespread and rampant. The Democratic Republic of Congo is known as the "rape capital of the world" (Emma Promfret, "Sexual Violence Effects Not Just Women and Girls").  There should not be such a thing as a "rape capital."

In May of 2014, two teenage girls were gang-raped and murdered in Uttar Pradesh when they went to the fields to relieve themselves. Less than a week later, a woman was shot in the head for resisting militants who were attempting to molest her. Since then, no less than five other cases, involving similar circumstances, have taken place.

It is important to note that, although this petition was prompted by the flurry of news related to the sexual violence in India, Thirdway's goal is to eradicate this violence worldwide. Furthermore, sexual violence does not only victimize women, but men also fall victim. 43% of high school and college men and boys reported being victims of sexual assault or rape with 95% of them reporting a female aggressor (American Psychological Association, “Sexual Coercion Context and Psychosocial Correlates Among Diverse Males”). Many of these men and boys, about 59%, go on to be the people who rape women and girls (Petrovich, M. & Templer, D. I. (1984). Heterosexual molestation of children who later become rapists. Psychological Reports, 54, 810).

We will not ignore this injustice, and we ask you to come alongside us to prevent and eradicate such crime through specific and focused human rights education. Thirdway is developing an educational program that will bring awareness and equip both victims and perpetrators to work on human rights and uphold human dignity. Through educating individuals and providing specific training in regards to such topics, Thirdway aims to combat sexual violence against men and women. Such crimes against humanity cannot be justified, and we believe that education is a desperately needed step towards the riddance of sexual violence.