For Them All poem marking the end of 16 Days of Activism 2023
Written by members of the Survivor Reference Group at Scottish Women’s Aid
Extended version
For the women who we knew and loved
For the children that never got the chance to play nosily and without fear
For my friend, who loved to sing
For my auntie, who gave the best advice
For all the women who’ve had to walk on eggshells
For all the families that were torn apart by a man’s violent actions
For the young woman who dreamed of being a teacher
For the older woman, who wasn’t allowed to leave the house alone
For the wee boy, who tried to protect his mum
For the wee girl, who grew up thinking love meant loud voices and angry faces
For the women who deserved better
For the women we no longer have with us but will never forget
For the little girl who still thinks she was the problem
For the little boy who wants to be a policeman so he can lock his dad up
For the mum in the school playground with her brave face
For my friend, who doesn’t know she deserves much better
For the grandmas, who have served a life sentence
For the women who had trusted and whose trust was broken
For the women who were not believed
For the girl who kept having nightmares of losing her mum
For the mothers stuck in child custody cases for years
For the children whose mum was not there at bedtime
For the boys who were told their mum did not care about them
For the mothers who tried to protect their children
For the women who had thought they were marrying a companion
For the women who were hated
For the women who found they were not loved
For the women who were made out to be weak and stupid
For the little girls punished by their fathers
For the children made to stand alone in the dark
For the children who were hit
For the children who were ignored when they wept
For all the pain and all the hurt we will not be silenced
For all the women we will hold the line and campaign against male violence
For them all
