The time is here for women to join with men in claiming our voices. The foundation has been laid to join and lead together. This opportunity was crafted by those who came before us; generations of men and women who have lived their lives so we can live ours.

The network of V-Day volunteers spreads to all four corners of the world. It is a subtle and respectful spread of sisterly support that does not impose neocolonialism or euro-centricity onto local or indigenous communities.

Why aren't women and girls rioting the streets in protest of violence? Have we learned to accept violence as part of our global culture? Is this the kind of world we want our children and grandchildren to inherit? Have we given up? The answer is a resounding and an unequivocal NO.

"Today, on the planet, a billion women -- one of every three women on the planet -- will be raped or beaten in her lifetime. That's ONE BILLION mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, and friends violated. V-Day REFUSES to stand by as more than a billion women experience violence."

All war metaphors must go. You cannot fight for peace. Peace is the path. You cannot win a war on cancer or violence against women or anything else you don't want. Fighting something always makes it bigger.

In ancient Greece, it was believed that the pursuit of the humanities could bring us closer to the sacred. Dance, music, painting and literature, according to Greek mythology, were given to humankind by the nine Muses.

We see it in child slavery, child prostitution, and prisons, but we also see it happening to our sacred places in nature. Is it fair to say that clear-cutting a whole forest and destroying all of its diverse life-forms is an expression of rape and pillage?