WEBVTT 00:00:01.400 --> 00:00:03.020 I want you to imagine 00:00:03.020 --> 00:00:04.832 what a breakthrough this was 00:00:04.832 --> 00:00:07.229 for women who were victims of violence 00:00:07.229 --> 00:00:09.216 in the 1980s. 00:00:09.216 --> 00:00:12.299 They would come into the emergency room 00:00:12.299 --> 00:00:16.157 from what the police would call "a lover's quarrel," 00:00:16.157 --> 00:00:19.792 and I would see a woman who was beaten, 00:00:19.792 --> 00:00:24.382 I would see a broken nose and a fractured wrist 00:00:24.382 --> 00:00:26.542 and swollen eyes. 00:00:26.542 --> 00:00:30.487 And as activists, we would take our Polaroid camera, 00:00:30.487 --> 00:00:33.029 we would take her picture, 00:00:33.029 --> 00:00:35.196 we would wait 90 seconds, 00:00:35.196 --> 00:00:38.431 and we would give her the photograph. 00:00:38.431 --> 00:00:40.310 And she would then have 00:00:40.310 --> 00:00:43.460 the evidence she needed to go to court. 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:47.787 We were making what was invisible visible. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:47.787 --> 00:00:49.895 I've been doing this for 30 years. 00:00:49.895 --> 00:00:52.012 I've been part of a social movement 00:00:52.012 --> 00:00:53.991 that has been working on ending 00:00:53.991 --> 00:00:57.928 violence against women and children. 00:00:57.928 --> 00:01:01.011 And for all those years, 00:01:01.011 --> 00:01:05.749 I've had an absolutely passionate 00:01:05.749 --> 00:01:08.635 and sometimes not popular belief 00:01:08.635 --> 00:01:11.975 that this violence is not inevitable, 00:01:11.975 --> 00:01:14.995 that it is learned, and if it's learned, 00:01:14.995 --> 00:01:19.023 it can be unlearned, and it can be prevented. 00:01:19.023 --> 00:01:26.522 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:26.522 --> 00:01:28.239 Why do I believe this? 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:30.421 Because it's true. 00:01:30.421 --> 00:01:32.720 It is absolutely true. 00:01:32.720 --> 00:01:37.985 Between 1993 and 2010, 00:01:37.985 --> 00:01:41.394 domestic violence among adult women 00:01:41.394 --> 00:01:43.003 in the United States 00:01:43.003 --> 00:01:46.333 has gone down by 64 percent, 00:01:46.333 --> 00:01:48.763 and that is great news. 00:01:48.763 --> 00:01:51.745 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:01:51.745 --> 00:01:55.108 Sixty-four percent. Now how did we get there? 00:01:55.108 --> 00:01:56.795 Our eyes were wide open. 00:01:56.795 --> 00:01:58.925 Thirty years ago, women were beaten, 00:01:58.925 --> 00:02:00.997 they were stalked, they were raped, 00:02:00.997 --> 00:02:03.677 and no one talked about it. 00:02:03.677 --> 00:02:05.582 There was no justice. 00:02:05.582 --> 00:02:10.113 And as an activist, that was not good enough. 00:02:10.113 --> 00:02:12.584 And so step one on this journey 00:02:12.584 --> 00:02:14.505 is we organized, 00:02:14.505 --> 00:02:17.002 and we created this extraordinary 00:02:17.002 --> 00:02:20.030 underground network of amazing women 00:02:20.030 --> 00:02:21.998 who opened shelters, 00:02:21.998 --> 00:02:24.024 and if they didn't open a shelter, 00:02:24.024 --> 00:02:25.755 they opened their home 00:02:25.755 --> 00:02:28.927 so that women and children could be safe. 00:02:28.927 --> 00:02:30.592 And you know what else we did? 00:02:30.592 --> 00:02:33.764 We had bake sales, we had car washes, 00:02:33.764 --> 00:02:36.330 and we did everything we could do to fundraise, 00:02:36.330 --> 00:02:38.445 and then at one point we said, 00:02:38.445 --> 00:02:40.586 you know, it's time that we went 00:02:40.586 --> 00:02:42.286 to the federal government 00:02:42.286 --> 00:02:44.165 and asked them to pay for these 00:02:44.165 --> 00:02:48.081 extraordinary services that are saving people's lives. 00:02:48.081 --> 00:02:50.733 Right? (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:02:50.733 --> 00:02:53.838 And so, step number two, 00:02:53.838 --> 00:02:56.167 we knew we needed to change the laws. 00:02:56.167 --> 00:02:58.316 And so we went to Washington, 00:02:58.316 --> 00:03:03.278 and we lobbied for the first piece of legislation. 00:03:03.278 --> 00:03:05.854 And I remember walking through the halls 00:03:05.854 --> 00:03:08.295 of the U.S. Capitol, 00:03:08.295 --> 00:03:12.424 and I was in my 30s, and my life had purpose, 00:03:12.424 --> 00:03:14.944 and I couldn't imagine 00:03:14.944 --> 00:03:17.194 that anybody would ever challenge 00:03:17.194 --> 00:03:19.244 this important piece of legislation. 00:03:19.244 --> 00:03:22.426 I was probably 30 and naive. 00:03:22.426 --> 00:03:24.215 But I heard about a congressman 00:03:24.215 --> 00:03:26.825 who had a very, very different point of view. 00:03:26.825 --> 00:03:28.178 Do you know what he called 00:03:28.178 --> 00:03:30.560 this important piece of legislation? 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:34.723 He called it the take-the-fun-out-of-marriage act. 00:03:34.723 --> 00:03:36.748 The take-the-fun-out-of-marriage act. 00:03:36.748 --> 00:03:39.212 Ladies and gentlemen, that was in 1984 00:03:39.212 --> 00:03:42.272 in the United States, and I wish I had Twitter. 00:03:42.272 --> 00:03:45.613 (Laughter) NOTE Paragraph 00:03:45.613 --> 00:03:48.764 Ten years later, after lots of hard work, 00:03:48.764 --> 00:03:51.979 we finally passed the Violence Against Women Act, 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.297 which is a life-changing act 00:03:54.297 --> 00:03:57.104 that has saved so many lives. (Applause) 00:03:57.104 --> 00:03:58.813 Thank you. 00:03:58.813 --> 00:04:01.441 I was proud to be part of that work, 00:04:01.441 --> 00:04:03.829 and it changed the laws 00:04:03.829 --> 00:04:06.481 and it put millions of dollars into local communities. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:06.481 --> 00:04:09.070 And you know what else it did? It collected data. 00:04:09.070 --> 00:04:10.250 And I have to tell you, 00:04:10.250 --> 00:04:11.690 I'm passionate about data. 00:04:11.690 --> 00:04:14.290 In fact, I am a data nerd. 00:04:14.290 --> 00:04:16.193 I'm sure there are a lot of data nerds here. 00:04:16.193 --> 00:04:17.614 I am a data nerd, 00:04:17.614 --> 00:04:20.065 and the reason for that is I want to make sure 00:04:20.065 --> 00:04:23.664 that if we spend a dollar, that the program works, 00:04:23.664 --> 00:04:27.096 and if it doesn't work, we should change the plan. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:27.096 --> 00:04:31.773 And I also want to say one other thing: 00:04:31.773 --> 00:04:33.835 we are not going to solve this problem 00:04:33.835 --> 00:04:36.918 by building more jails 00:04:36.918 --> 00:04:39.246 or by even building more shelters. 00:04:39.246 --> 00:04:42.362 It is about economic empowerment for women, 00:04:42.362 --> 00:04:45.107 it is about healing kids who are hurt, 00:04:45.107 --> 00:04:48.460 and it is about prevention with a capital P. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:48.460 --> 00:04:52.900 And so, step number three on this journey: 00:04:52.900 --> 00:04:55.852 we know, if we're going to keep making this progress, 00:04:55.852 --> 00:04:58.023 we're going to have to turn up the volume, 00:04:58.023 --> 00:05:00.319 we're going to have to increase the visibility, 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.369 and we're going to have to engage the public. 00:05:03.369 --> 00:05:06.517 And so knowing that, we went to the Advertising Council, 00:05:06.517 --> 00:05:08.824 and we asked them to help us 00:05:08.824 --> 00:05:11.490 build a public education campaign. 00:05:11.490 --> 00:05:14.010 And we looked around the world to Canada 00:05:14.010 --> 00:05:16.726 and Australia and Brazil and parts of Africa, 00:05:16.726 --> 00:05:18.488 and we took this knowledge 00:05:18.488 --> 00:05:20.615 and we built the first national 00:05:20.615 --> 00:05:22.965 public education campaign 00:05:22.965 --> 00:05:25.519 called "There's No Excuse For Domestic Violence." 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:28.288 Take a look at one of our spots. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:28.288 --> 00:05:29.518 (Video) Man: Where's dinner? NOTE Paragraph 00:05:29.518 --> 00:05:33.155 Woman: Well, I thought you'd be home a couple hours ago, and I put everything away, so— NOTE Paragraph 00:05:33.155 --> 00:05:35.982 Man: What is this? Pizza. Woman: If you had just called me, I would have known— NOTE Paragraph 00:05:35.982 --> 00:05:38.417 Man: Dinner? Dinner ready is a pizza? Woman: Honey, please don't be so loud. 00:05:38.417 --> 00:05:41.213 Please don't—Let go of me! NOTE Paragraph 00:05:41.213 --> 00:05:44.384 Man: Get in the kitchen! Woman: No! Help! NOTE Paragraph 00:05:44.384 --> 00:05:46.863 Man: You want to see what hurts? (Slaps woman) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:46.863 --> 00:05:50.484 That's what hurts! That's what hurts! (Breaking glass) NOTE Paragraph 00:05:50.484 --> 00:05:52.475 Woman: Help me! NOTE Paragraph 00:05:52.475 --> 00:05:55.941 [Children have to sit by and watch. What's your excuse?] NOTE Paragraph 00:05:55.941 --> 00:05:57.607 Esta Soler: As we were in the process 00:05:57.607 --> 00:05:59.453 of releasing this campaign, 00:05:59.453 --> 00:06:01.328 O.J. Simpson was arrested 00:06:01.328 --> 00:06:05.478 for the murder of his wife and her friend. 00:06:05.478 --> 00:06:07.889 We learned that he had a long history 00:06:07.889 --> 00:06:09.184 of domestic violence. 00:06:09.184 --> 00:06:11.587 The media became fixated. 00:06:11.587 --> 00:06:13.559 The story of domestic violence 00:06:13.559 --> 00:06:14.776 went from the back page, 00:06:14.776 --> 00:06:17.812 but actually from the no-page, to the front page. 00:06:17.812 --> 00:06:20.966 Our ads blanketed the airways, 00:06:20.966 --> 00:06:23.003 and women, for the first time, 00:06:23.003 --> 00:06:25.206 started to tell their stories. 00:06:25.206 --> 00:06:27.961 Movements are about moments, 00:06:27.961 --> 00:06:30.846 and we seized this moment. 00:06:30.846 --> 00:06:33.508 And let me just put this in context. 00:06:33.508 --> 00:06:36.489 Before 1980, do you have any idea 00:06:36.489 --> 00:06:39.774 how many articles were in "The New York Times" 00:06:39.774 --> 00:06:42.604 on domestic violence? 00:06:42.604 --> 00:06:46.698 I'll tell you: 158. 00:06:46.698 --> 00:06:51.286 And in the 2000s, over 7,000. 00:06:51.286 --> 00:06:54.244 We were obviously making a difference. NOTE Paragraph 00:06:54.244 --> 00:06:56.990 But we were still missing a critical element. 00:06:56.990 --> 00:07:02.814 So step four: we needed to engage men. 00:07:02.814 --> 00:07:04.402 We couldn't solve this problem 00:07:04.402 --> 00:07:07.565 with 50 percent of the population on the sidelines. 00:07:07.565 --> 00:07:09.769 And I already told you I'm a data nerd. 00:07:09.769 --> 00:07:13.346 National polling told us that men felt indicted 00:07:13.346 --> 00:07:15.922 and not invited into this conversation. 00:07:15.922 --> 00:07:19.623 So we wondered, how can we include men? 00:07:19.623 --> 00:07:21.649 How can we get men to talk about 00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:24.439 violence against women and girls? 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:26.817 And a male friend of mine pulled me aside 00:07:26.817 --> 00:07:30.255 and he said, "You want men to talk about violence 00:07:30.255 --> 00:07:33.586 against women and girls. Men don't talk." 00:07:33.586 --> 00:07:35.503 (Laughter) 00:07:35.503 --> 00:07:37.287 I apologize to the men in the audience. 00:07:37.287 --> 00:07:39.391 I know you do. 00:07:39.391 --> 00:07:40.832 But he said, "Do you know what they do do? 00:07:40.832 --> 00:07:42.587 They do talk to their kids. 00:07:42.587 --> 00:07:46.287 They talk to their kids as parents, as coaches." 00:07:46.287 --> 00:07:47.716 And that's what we did. 00:07:47.716 --> 00:07:49.306 We met men where they were at 00:07:49.306 --> 00:07:50.983 and we built a program. 00:07:50.983 --> 00:07:52.808 And then we had this one event 00:07:52.808 --> 00:07:54.729 that stays in my heart forever 00:07:54.729 --> 00:07:57.238 where a basketball coach 00:07:57.238 --> 00:08:01.513 was talking to a room filled with male athletes 00:08:01.513 --> 00:08:04.248 and men from all walks of life. 00:08:04.248 --> 00:08:05.721 And he was talking about the importance 00:08:05.721 --> 00:08:07.310 of coaching boys into men 00:08:07.310 --> 00:08:09.333 and changing the culture of the locker room 00:08:09.333 --> 00:08:12.555 and giving men the tools to have healthy relationships. 00:08:12.555 --> 00:08:15.115 And all of a sudden, he looked at the back of the room, 00:08:15.115 --> 00:08:16.949 and he saw his daughter, 00:08:16.949 --> 00:08:19.682 and he called out his daughter's name, Michaela, 00:08:19.682 --> 00:08:21.540 and he said, "Michaela, come up here." 00:08:21.540 --> 00:08:23.670 And she's nine years old, and she was kind of shy, 00:08:23.670 --> 00:08:25.017 and she got up there, 00:08:25.017 --> 00:08:27.714 and he said, "Sit down next to me." 00:08:27.714 --> 00:08:30.050 She sat right down next to him. 00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:32.537 He gave her this big hug, and he said, 00:08:32.537 --> 00:08:35.113 "People ask me why I do this work. 00:08:35.113 --> 00:08:38.597 I do this work because I'm her dad, 00:08:38.597 --> 00:08:42.415 and I don't want anyone ever to hurt her." 00:08:42.415 --> 00:08:45.261 And as a parent, I get it. 00:08:45.261 --> 00:08:47.478 I get it, 00:08:47.478 --> 00:08:50.684 knowing that there are so many sexual assaults 00:08:50.684 --> 00:08:52.675 on college campuses 00:08:52.675 --> 00:08:55.555 that are so widespread and so under-reported. 00:08:55.555 --> 00:08:58.442 We've done a lot for adult women. 00:08:58.442 --> 00:09:01.248 We've got to do a better job for our kids. 00:09:01.248 --> 00:09:04.622 We just do. We have to. (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:04.622 --> 00:09:06.631 We've come a long way 00:09:06.631 --> 00:09:09.457 since the days of the Polaroid. 00:09:09.457 --> 00:09:12.611 Technology has been our friend. 00:09:12.611 --> 00:09:16.854 The mobile phone is a global game-changer 00:09:16.854 --> 00:09:18.863 for the empowerment of women, 00:09:18.863 --> 00:09:22.730 and Facebook and Twitter and Google and YouTube 00:09:22.730 --> 00:09:26.612 and all the social media helps us organize 00:09:26.612 --> 00:09:30.201 and tell our story in a powerful way. 00:09:30.201 --> 00:09:32.484 And so those of you in this audience 00:09:32.484 --> 00:09:34.463 who have helped build those applications 00:09:34.463 --> 00:09:36.624 and those platforms, as an organizer, 00:09:36.624 --> 00:09:39.511 I say, thank you very much. 00:09:39.511 --> 00:09:41.293 Really. I clap for you. 00:09:41.293 --> 00:09:44.414 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:09:44.414 --> 00:09:47.009 I'm the daughter of a man 00:09:47.009 --> 00:09:49.477 who joined one club in his life, 00:09:49.477 --> 00:09:52.645 the Optimist Club. 00:09:52.645 --> 00:09:55.683 You can't make that one up. 00:09:55.683 --> 00:09:59.463 And it is his spirit and his optimism 00:09:59.463 --> 00:10:01.420 that is in my DNA. 00:10:01.420 --> 00:10:03.174 I have been doing this work 00:10:03.174 --> 00:10:05.099 for over 30 years, 00:10:05.099 --> 00:10:08.148 and I am convinced, now more than ever, 00:10:08.148 --> 00:10:11.821 in the capacity of human beings to change. 00:10:11.821 --> 00:10:15.360 I believe we can bend the arc of human history 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:18.162 toward compassion and equality, 00:10:18.162 --> 00:10:21.134 and I also fundamentally believe 00:10:21.134 --> 00:10:23.111 and passionately believe 00:10:23.111 --> 00:10:26.194 that this violence does not have to be part 00:10:26.194 --> 00:10:28.062 of the human condition. 00:10:28.062 --> 00:10:31.572 And I ask you, stand with us 00:10:31.572 --> 00:10:35.219 as we create futures without violence 00:10:35.219 --> 00:10:39.823 for women and girls and men and boys everywhere. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:39.823 --> 00:10:41.877 Thank you very much. NOTE Paragraph 00:10:41.877 --> 00:10:47.803 (Applause)