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 A
Battered Woman’s Affirmation
I celebrate my courage in coming here.
I was alone, but now I am not alone.
I was victimized, but I am no longer a victim.
I name the violence in my life and declare it wrong.
I name that I need help, and that I am willing to give
it.
Nothing I do provokes the violence.
Nothing about me causes the violence.
Nothing gives one person the right to abuse another.
Abusers can change themselves, but I cannot change
them.
Nothing I can do will change my past.
Everything I do changes my future.
I have protected myself and my children.
Resistance to violence, defending myself or my children,
is not abuse.
I believe in myself; I believe in my sisters.
I can ask for support; and I can give support.
I can change myself; and I can change the world.
My being here helps others.
I am not here to judge my sisters, but to support their
healing.
I will take the risk to trust the other women here.
I affirm the privacy and confidentiality of every women
here.
Every time a sister resists, she creates a space for
resistance around her.
I am here in solidarity with my sisters of all persuasions,
all colors, all orientations, and all faiths
to say NO! to violence.
We will not be divided by our diversity—we will be strengthened by it.
In the words of Alice Walker,
“I am the woman offering two flowers whose roots
are twin—
Justice and Hope.”
Let us begin.
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