Defending Reproductive Justice

Throughout history, women have borne the greatest burdens. They are targeted as the bearers of future generations, as symbols of community, as vessels of shame, and pillars of hope. In the Holocaust, Jewish and Romani women were sterilized, subjected to forced abortions, and assaulted. In Rwanda, rape was not incidental but systematic; half a million women were victimized in just 100 days. In Bosnia, thousands of women were imprisoned in so-called “rape camps,” their bodies used to shatter the spirit of an entire people. In Gaza, pregnant women have died in bombed maternity wards, mothers have given birth without anesthesia, and widows are left to raise children alone.

Women face violence designed to erase their dignity, quiet their voices, and rob them of the freedom to bring life into the world safely and by choice. Survivors have spoken of living in “the debris of spirit,” as poet and human rights advocate Carolyn Forché described it in our Women’s Words series: “We live in the aftermath of genocide continually… we inflict irreparable damage on our souls, and that damage is inflicted on all human souls worldwide…A society is only as safe as the most vulnerable of its people are safe. It just seems to me that unless we view it that way, we're lost, we're condemned to a traumatized soul.” Dr. Scilla Elworthy, another voice in our archive, reminds us of what is at stake: “When I think about a world without genocide, it is a world in which women can live in freedom from being afraid for their lives… And when we begin to do that, then we'll learn how to live in harmony with our surroundings, with our planet, and to share the resources that are currently getting so scarce that if we don't cooperate, there ain't going to be no great grandchildren. We'll never get rid of conflict.”

These testimonies matter because they resist erasure. They remind us that genocide is not only the destruction of bodies, but of futures. Our subject, Rachel Lloyd, put it bluntly: “Sexism, gender-based violence in every form across the world is an epidemic. It stems from the deeply held notion of women as inferior. If we are to see real change, we must shift that balance of power dramatically.” Her words echo across generations.

3 Generations continues to support reproductive health and rights, and to bear witness to women’s suffering and resilience in the face of the world’s darkest crimes. For information about the issues we support and to watch our films, please visit 3generations.org, follow us on social media, and connect with us via email by subscribing to our mailing list. We thank you for your support; we could not continue hearing their stories and demanding change without YOU.