Commentary: The Patterned Tactics of Abuse Impacting the Country

 

Nationally, we are living in challenging times that are intentionally couched in chaos, unpredictability, and scarcity.

For more than 38 years, I have been an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence. I can tell you that the tactics from the White House today mirror the behavior and dynamics of an abuser. It keeps victims off balance and consumes their energy, which becomes focused on simply surviving the next 24 hours without an incident or assault.

When your energy is focused on survival, you become exhausted and do not have the emotional and cognitive space to think about getting out of the relationship. It is hard to know how to create a safer environment for yourself and your children. The abuser counts on this exhaustion.

I am the executive director of Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE), a nonprofit that receives approximately 45 percent of its funding from federal grants to serve our target population of immigrant and refugee women, girls, and their families. Our network includes transgender women and nonbinary individuals. The overwhelming majority of our circle includes English language learners. Current funding streams are uncertain. No one yet has been able to tell us whether our funding is safe from cuts or termination. 

What I do know, however, is that we will not disappear or compromise our values or mission. We have to be as brave as the girls, women, and female-identified individuals we serve.

I have lived through many movements: civil rights, women’s rights, domestic and sexual violence, Indigenous people’s rights, and LGBTQ+. None of them began with funding — federal or otherwise. They were built on the will of the people, courage and sacrifice, and the commitment to overcome barriers that perpetuate the oppression they have endured.

For those of us who are horrified by the dismantling of people’s rights, resources, and safety, we must resist the tactics of the abusers to keep us off balance — and resist reacting to the chaos rather than what is happening behind the scenes. We must not simply comply with demands in the hopes it will somehow protect us.

Is this a scary time for those of us who believe in free speech, basic human rights, and the right to dignity for all humanity? Yes.

Are things going to get worse? Yes.

Will programs, services and resources disappear? Many will.

Does that mean that we should give up or try to become invisible in the hopes the hunter does not see us as easy prey? NO.

We cannot give away our power. Now is the time to organize, speak our truths loudly and clearly, and remind our communities that we have already survived other attempts to silence and frighten us. As Alice Walker so eloquently said, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Let us be fearless in naming our realities and speaking our truths, be strategic in forming alliances and leveraging resources, and be kind as we give each other support and the grace needed to navigate these difficult times.

 

---

Pamela Zeller has worked for social justice issues involving migrant farm workers health, Central Americans seeking political asylum, at-risk youth, elder abuse, and many others. She is a first-generation child, born in the U.S., and is proud of her mestiza heritage and Mexican-indigenous culture.