litany of lament

Hear us, Lord Jesus Christ, when we cry to you for all the women and girls who are victims of violence.

Hear us, Lord Jesus Christ, for they are stripped and beaten as you were stripped and beaten, they are humiliated and used as you were betrayed and shamed. For the beaten girls and the battered women,blamed and bruised by angry men, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the young girls given or sold in marriage, and for unwilling brides with no way out, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women raped as a weapon of warand for the children they bear in grief and shame, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the victims of rape who are killed or take their own lives, and for the rape survivors who live with its scars, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the girls denied access to education,told they are stupid or worthless or expendable, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the girls and women sold or tricked into the sex trade, and for sex workers exposed to disease and violence,we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the mothers, whose children are taken away by armies, governments, churches or family members, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the girl-children who are unwanted and rejected, the first to be aborted or abandoned,the last to be fed: we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women bashed in their own homes,and for their children who see and hear the violence, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women trapped in destructive relationships, manipulated, controlled, justifying their abusers, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women who hide their bruisesand lie about their injuries for fear of the next attack, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women bullied in their workplaces,belittled, underpaid, threatened with losing their job, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women in prison, abused and abusing, beset by poverty, mental illness and addictions, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women attacked because of their sexual identity, targets for physical or spiritual assault,we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the women and girls denied religious freedom, forced to submit by custom or law, we cry out to you: bring justice!

For the older women, frail in body or mind, fearful of violence, manipulation or neglect, we cry out to you: bring justice!

We cry to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for our sisters, our daughters, our mothers, ourselves.

Bring justice. Bring healing. Bring hope. Amen.