ABSTRACT
Active witnessing and the development of resilience go together. It is the power of witnessing that begins to bring light to the darkness of unrecognized trauma. Sometimes, the leader is the brave woman who wants others to know and she speaks out. Witnessing can be thought of as having layers, as does psychic life. There is the event, there are associations and feelings about the event, and there are relationships with external and internal objects who receive or deny the experience. It was comforting to discover so many individuals who wanted to contribute and help make The Courage to Fight Violence Against Women. The chapter highlights how women and men were speaking out to define the importance of recognizing what is abusive, bullying, and assaultive of women. With the pairing of stories of violence and courage, able to speak of atrocities and recognize the enormous efforts scholars are making to witness, to gather information, and to create effective interventions.
