Night of Solidarity

In spring 2020, as governments enforced lockdowns to combat the spread of COVID-19, rates of domestic violence spiked. The United Nations Population Fund called it “calamitous.” But even before the pandemic, of course, abuse was rampant: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men in the U.S. have been victims of partner violence during their lifetime, with more than 1 in 10 children exposed to the abuse. How did this become the background noise to our lives? And how can we begin to see domestic violence as not just a private problem, but a public crisis we can and must address?

To find out, The Meteor partnered with leading anti-violence organizations to create a 90-minute YouTube program centered on standing with survivors—and exploring solutions. Night of Solidarity featured Gabrielle Union, Padma Lakshmi, Melissa Benoist, J.R. Martinez, Gloria Steinem, Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet, the cast of “Orange is the New Black,” host Tamron Hall and more. (Don’t miss Gloria Gaynor performing from her living room at the end!) See the whole talented list of creators and contributors, producers and directors, artists and allies.

As a culture, we’ve progressed in how we think and talk about this issue: As Steinem observed, “until I was 40, there was no word for domestic violence. It was just called life.” But safety is still out of reach for too many of us. (A full 39 percent of Native women, as Lisa Brunner pointed out in the program, identify as victims of intimate partner violence—higher than any other demographic group.) And old stereotypes remain: “People always ask, ‘Why doesn’t she leave?’ But we should be asking, ‘Why is he violent?’” noted journalist Rachel Louise Snyder.

Watch the trailer here—or scroll to the bottom for the entire program, full of better questions, new ways of thinking and the vision of survivors for a safe and dignified future.