04/22/2026
The UN 2026 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence in 2026 doesn't start until November 25 2026 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10 (Human Rights Day), but in light of the recent violence and femicide against black women Zeta Lambda Mu Sorority Inc. reminds everyone, especially our brothers, that ending violence towards women IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WOMEN!
For too long, the conversation has focused on how women and girls can protect themselves, rather than focusing on the source of the violence.
IT IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF MEN, NOT WOMEN, TO END DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND FEMICIDE.
While women have historically led the movements for safety and legislative change, we cannot "fix" a problem we did not create.
Violence against women is a behavioral, societal and systemic issue rooted in male actions and structures that permit them.
To end these abuses, the focus must move away from "victim-blaming" and toward
This involves several critical shifts:
• From Self-Defense to Self-Restraint: Instead of teaching girls how to walk home safely, the societal focus must be on teaching boys and men to respect the autonomy and humanity of women.
• Challenging "Locker Room" Culture: Men have a unique responsibility to interrupt the "continuum of violence," which starts with sexist jokes and dehumanizing language and scales up to physical abuse.
• Dismantling Entitlement: True change occurs when men reject the idea that they are entitled to a woman’s time, body, or emotional labor.
A world free from femicide and abuse is only possible when men decide that violence is no longer an acceptable expression of power or emotion. The burden of safety should never rest on the shoulders of the person being targeted; it rests on the person holding the hand that strikes.
Zeta Lambda Mu Sorority, Inc.
