Feb 24, 2010

Kelvin Seventh Day Adventist Men Ministry has joined a global campaign to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence against women and girls around the world called enditnow.

This campaign, which extends to more than 200 countries and territories, was launched in October 2009 in partnership between the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)—a prominent humanitarian organization—and the Department of Women’s Ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, two entities that are representative of the Adventist Church.

enditnow is the most important stand the Seventh-day Adventist Church has ever taken regarding violence against women and girls. Through this campaign, more than 15 million Adventist church members—men, women, and children—are expected to create a global movement that will be mobilized within their own communities, where each person will actively work to create awareness and share solutions on ways to end this global problem.

Seventh-day Adventists affirm the dignity and worth of each human being and decry all forms of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. enditnow is a call to action for all Adventists and supporters to stand up and put into practice those principles we hold true.

enditnow supports the existing programs currently being implemented around the world through ADRA and the Department of Women’s Ministries to end violence against women. These programs provide tangible examples of the work that is already being done to resolve this issue.

Although enditnow seeks to primarily mobilize Adventist church members, all individuals, church congregations of every faith, social groups, schools, and businesses are invited to join. Information about joining is available at www.enditnow.org.

Comprehensive information about enditnow is available at www.enditnow.org, including downloadable electronic resources, advocacy ideas, and ways for groups and individuals to get involved.

During the initial phase of enditnow, 1 million signatures are expected to be collected from individuals in more than 200 countries who support the end of violence against women and girls. These signatures, which are being gathered through grassroots efforts, will be presented to the United Nations to raise additional awareness about the issue, advocate for the creation of effective new policies that protect women and girls, and make public the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s efforts to end violent practices against the female gender.
Donations to will be used by this campaign to directly enhance the goal that lies at the center of this effort—to end violence against women and girls.

enditnow builds on the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s long tradition of responding to the needs of all human beings, namely to stand up in favor of human rights, tolerance, the well-being of children, freedom of expression and conscience, and the protection and integrity of families.

enditnow seeks to extend God’s vision of love and compassion for all His children.

Domestic violence has been documented as a major issue within the Seventh-dayAdventist Church. Incidences of abuse follow trends documented in non-Adventist populations. This is why enditnow seeks to increase personal awareness, responsibility, and involvement to effectively help end violence against women and girls in every family and community.

While enditnow focuses on violence against women and girls, abuse of any kind should never occur against men or women. This campaign aims to highlight abuse against women because the majority of victims of gender-based violence are indisputably women.

Source:www.enditnow.org