I am increasingly disappointed with the views expressed by the Independent Women's Forum towards The Vagina Monologues. I would like to clarify the mission of the Vagina Monologues and V-Day. Both activism efforts do anything but promote victimization. The Vagina Monologues address the issue of rape, and V-Day attempts to end violence against women, because the reality is, sexual violence against women exists.

Victims are not created by speaking the truth about rape, they are created by silencing the issue. Empowerment can only occur when women who have been raped share their experiences and let the numerous other women who share that experience know they are not alone. When these brave women muster the courage to speak about their experience it sends a message to society that women will not remain vulnerable to this type of violence. We will end the silence surrounding rape. We will put more rapists in jail. We will make the world safer for all women, whether they identify themselves as feminists or not.

The Vagina Monologues addresses taboo subjects to remove those stigmas that threaten women's freedom to express themselves, including the freedom to express all facets of their sexuality that society has told them to repress. I also find it highly inappropriate to use the slogan "Take Back the Date," in reference to the powerful and necessary efforts of "Take Back the Night."

Women everywhere, including those members of the Independent Women's Forum, will benefit from the creation of safer streets, of a society free from sexual violence. And, it's unfortunate that some are so misguided as to place chivalry above safety.