12/7/20
By Karla Rader Barber
Day 13 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign
#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190
When I think about violence against women the acts that come to mind are rape, physical violence and verbal abuse. There are forms of abuse that may, on the surface, not look like violence but they are. I witnessed one of these subtler acts of violence at the El Paso airport last year. I was working at one of the Annunication House shelters that houses immigrants when they are released from ICE custody and permitted to continue their journey to their sponsors in the United States. As I did on many days, I drove a group of immigrants to the airport to catch their flights. Among the group was a young woman and her infant. As this woman stood in the line to be cleared by border patrol to enter the secure area of the airport her baby began to fuss. She did what is normal in her culture and started to nurse her baby. A CBP officer came over and scolded her, rummaged in the woman’s bag and took out a blanket that she used to cover the baby and the woman’s breast. I observed this encounter from my position several yards away. I felt pain for the young woman who had already endured so much to travel from Guatemala to ask for asylum. The CBP officer publicly shamed this woman for doing what mothers should do; take care of their babies. As I reflect on this memory, I regret not walking over to say something to the officer. However, the reality in that situation was and still is that the officer with the uniform and the gun had all the power on that day, the power to abuse.
CBP has a toxic culture that rewards abuse: