This is the most important hashtag on the internet...

#YESALLWOMEN

Another day in the US, another massacre – it feels that way right? Everytime I turn on the news and hear about another shooting I am saddened though not surprised.

6 people died when the son of a Hollywood director went on a rampage over the weekend.

Elliot Rodger released a video prior to the shootings which claimed that his actions were “retribution” for rejection from women. The 22 year old went on a shooting rampage at the University of California and killed 6 young people before taking his own life.

It is such a horrible story, and the fact is that women each and every day live in fear of violence. The tragedy has sparked conversations on Twitter that could be the most important hashtag on the internet today – #YESALLWOMEN.

#yesallwomen was started to encourage all women from around the world to share their stories and feeling around fear and violence.

It is well worth your while to read through some of the many, many posts and you can see them here.

I know that we have come a long way in regards to violence towards women, but there is still a long road ahead of us. Unfortunately there are still people like Elliot Rodger out there which remind us that the road ahead is long. Though when hashtags like this pop up in social media, it makes me feel as though there are many people out there who are interested in bettering our world and that we are on our way.

This tragedy really got to me – I have two young daughters and it sickens me to think that they might experience violence in their lifetime, so here is my contribution to this conversation:

#YESALLWOMEN because by the time my girls are old enough to know what this hashtag stands for, I don’t want it to be relevant.

What would your hashtag be?

For more information about how Australians are trying to stop violence against women visit the White Ribbon website here : http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/

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59 Comments

- - mom94125 said
  - 02 Jan 2015
    7:19 pm
but they will not change their laws. it is your right to be safe but it isn’t a right , to be able to take away someone’s life!

- - mom92217 said
  - 24 Oct 2014
    8:55 pm
So sad gun laws need to be changed education too

- - ginoula5 said
  - 12 Aug 2014
    6:50 pm
Very sad to read this, seems these days they use social media to boast about violence, sickening actually.

- - neddie said
  - 08 Aug 2014
    11:57 pm
I’ve never seen this before – wow

- - skbou said
  - 31 Jul 2014
    3:51 pm
Scary, horrible and disturbing for those involved and those on the sidelines. #yestoallwomen and #yestoallmen …..because sadly violence knows no difference.

- - memo said
  - 05 Jul 2014
    7:17 pm
A terrible tragedy, the easy availablity of guns in the US is frightening. The gun laws need to be tightened. Even this person’s family were unaware of his mental state.

- - mouse said
  - 01 Jul 2014
    9:28 am
Coming from violence, I would hate to think my family had to endure it

- - june11 said
  - 14 Jun 2014
    9:36 am
Sadly it isn’t only men who are violently assaulted. A relative of mine was bashed in the face by his now ex with a high heeled shoe during a heated discussion. It took a few weeks to heal. Had I been him I would have left her permanently, not just for a few days until his face started to heal. Had she hit him she would have been running to all his relatives and bad mouthing him, the same as when he had a few days off work while sick with the flu. Basically she reckoned she couldn’t do what she wanted to. She worked all day so I don’t know what she was making a fuss about. Drs. tell you to rest, not to spread it around at your workplace.

- - nida saeed said
  - 07 Jun 2014
    3:45 pm
now i know. thanks

- - robyn_smithwick said
  - 05 Jun 2014
    2:38 pm
This article deals with a TERRIBLE TRAGEDY that could have possibly been avoided.! When is America going to get rid of the law that says they have a right to bear arms [guns ]..President Obama has tried but the Gun lobbyist’s win every time! That sickens me!

- - mom61924 said
  - 05 Jun 2014
    7:58 am
How horrible. It’s scary to think what the word might be like in 20 years

- - jessmumof2 said
  - 03 Jun 2014
    3:19 pm
This is the unfortunate world now its sad to read from all different parts of the world.

- - mom62165 said
  - 02 Jun 2014
    12:53 pm
I lived with DV and all kinds of abuse for a long segment of my life. #YesAllWomen is about to become my new mantra on ALL posts from now on on my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter . thankyou for sharing

- - mummsie said
  - 01 Jun 2014
    10:23 pm
Very informative. thank you.

- - mums-info said
  - 01 Jun 2014
    6:15 pm
It’s a very scary and uncertaint world these days

- - christial said
  - 31 May 2014
    8:37 pm
Very horrible crimes happening around the world as well as close to home. Sad.

- - katelt said
  - 31 May 2014
    11:38 am
What truly depresses me, is that we have headline news when 6 or 8 or 10 are murdered in the western world, but when 100’s of women are systematically raped, tortured and killed in third world countries, it might make a small paragraph on page 18.
- trishoet replied
  
  23 Jun 2014 , 11:31 pm
  So true! I don’t know how many articles I’ve read with horrific rapes and unbelievable crimes from third world countries that just has a brief summary or one short paragraph. But regardless this was a tragedy that costed innocent lives.
- - Emilyypamela said
  - 30 May 2014
    11:58 pm
I just can’t stop re reading this. My hear aches.

- - caramello said
  - 30 May 2014
    6:18 pm
alot of scary things happening lately.

- - no1ladydj said
  - 30 May 2014
    4:36 pm
We do the best that we can for our children, but even parents with best parenting skills and intentions can end up with children who are holy terrors or criminals. It’s time we stopped totally blaming the parents, as I’m sure the parents of the boy who did the shooting are equally horrified by what he did.