A Conversation With Patricia Cumbie from Global Rights for Women
written by Afterpast Review Staff
interview by Julia Choi and Yenna Lee
4/21/24
interview by Julia Choi and Yenna Lee
4/21/24
On April 9th, the Afterpast Review had the opportunity to meet with Patricia Cumbie, the communications manager for Global Rights for Women. As a successful advocate for women empowerment and an award-winning author, she strives to share the voices and voices of women and girls, especially concerning domestic and sexual violence.
At just 15-years-old, she was set on becoming a writer. However, her dream felt unachievable as she felt vulnerable and silenced from the lack of support from her family and the memory of her experience of sexual assault during her college years. Despite this, she took the courage, participated in a writing class, and was ultimately successful in achieving her goals as she published her first book Where People Like Us Live.
“Becoming a writer was so integral to that process of becoming a woman [for me]. I know my own mind, I have my own
mind, [and] I can cultivate my own mind. I think that for a lot of women and girls, we have a lot to say; [. . .] I believe
that stories can move mountains and help people change the world.”
From writing, she also embarked in the journey of advocacy as she joined the Global Rights for Women.
Global Rights for Women was founded in 2014 by their current executive director, Cheryl Thomas. Ms. Thomas originally worked in other agencies prior to finding Global Rights for Women, and through her experience, she noticed how whenever there was a humanitarian crisis, the needs for women and girls were always under-prioritized and the rates of gender-based violence always went up. Ultimately, the Global Rights for Women Organization was found to change the current system dynamic and to remove the practice of victim-blaming; As of now, they have successfully completed 48 projects in 30 countries such as the North Dakota Project: North Dakota Project 2023
For example, Global Rights for Women has worked with Georgia, a country near Eastern Europe and West Asia, for over the years. Over time, the Global Rights for Women have successfully created a system to protect the victims and to reduce gender-based violence cases. Starting off by reviewing the laws that were already implemented, they searched how they could make provisions to improve it. In addition to the review of the legal structure, they visited women’s shelters to learn about their overall experiences in that shelter to understand the support system that was currently in play.
Initial Review: It used to be that when someone reported a case, the police would take both the man and the women–
together–in the same cop car down to the police station to question whose fault it was. Usually, it ended with the claim
that it was a small fight, and the two simply needed to straighten out their relationship.
After Review: As the Global Rights for Women went back to Georgia after 5 years, they were able to clearly see the
change: as they asked the individuals in the woman’s shelter, they would get positive responses such as “Oh this shelter
has done so much for [us]” and “They helped me get back on my feet.” This was a big change compared to the initial
system where they had to justify themselves as to why they “deserve” the help. With the development of a system called
“Risk Assessment,” it helped ensure the safety of the victim as the abuser would be immediately taken out of their home
if big risk factors were found.
Similar to Georgia, Morocco initially did not have any gender-based violence law prior to collaborating with the Global Rights for Women. They followed with the idea that, “My wife is my property, if I want to beat her up, I have every right to do that.” As a result, for the last 10 years, Cumbie and her team have worked alongside other local advocates to create a better police response for the survivors.
Despite the overall success of Global Rights for Women, Cumbie highlights how the public continues to struggle with addressing gender-based violence and eradicating such practices:
“So many of our societies and communities are really organized around a patriarchal structure, where the lives of women
and girls are often whatever they’re experiencing is minimized. Currently, in our world, there is no country on our planet
where we have true gender equality, [and ultimately,] a big part of the problems that we’re facing especially within the
gender based violence movement is that there are so many ways that victims are silenced.”
With many of the cases regarding gender-based violence occurring in private homes or in work areas, many of the victims are faced with the question, “What’s your proof?” In certain countries, there’s laws enacted where you have to come out with the photos or some type of physical evidence to prove that you have been assaulted. This results in the discouragement of the victims to report and to seek support, and ultimately leaves such cases unresolved with their safety in question.
“My personal belief is that [in today’s society,] you cannot live as a woman on this Earth and not experience gender-based violence. Experiencing gender-based violence is [now] how women come of age.”
Overall, Global Rights for Women continues to address gender-based violence and the gender bias that prevails in today’s society.
At just 15-years-old, she was set on becoming a writer. However, her dream felt unachievable as she felt vulnerable and silenced from the lack of support from her family and the memory of her experience of sexual assault during her college years. Despite this, she took the courage, participated in a writing class, and was ultimately successful in achieving her goals as she published her first book Where People Like Us Live.
“Becoming a writer was so integral to that process of becoming a woman [for me]. I know my own mind, I have my own
mind, [and] I can cultivate my own mind. I think that for a lot of women and girls, we have a lot to say; [. . .] I believe
that stories can move mountains and help people change the world.”
From writing, she also embarked in the journey of advocacy as she joined the Global Rights for Women.
Global Rights for Women was founded in 2014 by their current executive director, Cheryl Thomas. Ms. Thomas originally worked in other agencies prior to finding Global Rights for Women, and through her experience, she noticed how whenever there was a humanitarian crisis, the needs for women and girls were always under-prioritized and the rates of gender-based violence always went up. Ultimately, the Global Rights for Women Organization was found to change the current system dynamic and to remove the practice of victim-blaming; As of now, they have successfully completed 48 projects in 30 countries such as the North Dakota Project: North Dakota Project 2023
For example, Global Rights for Women has worked with Georgia, a country near Eastern Europe and West Asia, for over the years. Over time, the Global Rights for Women have successfully created a system to protect the victims and to reduce gender-based violence cases. Starting off by reviewing the laws that were already implemented, they searched how they could make provisions to improve it. In addition to the review of the legal structure, they visited women’s shelters to learn about their overall experiences in that shelter to understand the support system that was currently in play.
Initial Review: It used to be that when someone reported a case, the police would take both the man and the women–
together–in the same cop car down to the police station to question whose fault it was. Usually, it ended with the claim
that it was a small fight, and the two simply needed to straighten out their relationship.
After Review: As the Global Rights for Women went back to Georgia after 5 years, they were able to clearly see the
change: as they asked the individuals in the woman’s shelter, they would get positive responses such as “Oh this shelter
has done so much for [us]” and “They helped me get back on my feet.” This was a big change compared to the initial
system where they had to justify themselves as to why they “deserve” the help. With the development of a system called
“Risk Assessment,” it helped ensure the safety of the victim as the abuser would be immediately taken out of their home
if big risk factors were found.
Similar to Georgia, Morocco initially did not have any gender-based violence law prior to collaborating with the Global Rights for Women. They followed with the idea that, “My wife is my property, if I want to beat her up, I have every right to do that.” As a result, for the last 10 years, Cumbie and her team have worked alongside other local advocates to create a better police response for the survivors.
Despite the overall success of Global Rights for Women, Cumbie highlights how the public continues to struggle with addressing gender-based violence and eradicating such practices:
“So many of our societies and communities are really organized around a patriarchal structure, where the lives of women
and girls are often whatever they’re experiencing is minimized. Currently, in our world, there is no country on our planet
where we have true gender equality, [and ultimately,] a big part of the problems that we’re facing especially within the
gender based violence movement is that there are so many ways that victims are silenced.”
With many of the cases regarding gender-based violence occurring in private homes or in work areas, many of the victims are faced with the question, “What’s your proof?” In certain countries, there’s laws enacted where you have to come out with the photos or some type of physical evidence to prove that you have been assaulted. This results in the discouragement of the victims to report and to seek support, and ultimately leaves such cases unresolved with their safety in question.
“My personal belief is that [in today’s society,] you cannot live as a woman on this Earth and not experience gender-based violence. Experiencing gender-based violence is [now] how women come of age.”
Overall, Global Rights for Women continues to address gender-based violence and the gender bias that prevails in today’s society.