By Joan Dawson

``The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." ― Albert Einstein

As Einstein astutely said, the world is a dangerous place because we allow evil to take place. Indeed, only a minority of the world's population uses violence.

However, the majority of us are silent. Our silence condones violence. We must, therefore, speak out. The U.N.'s campaign, ``16 Days of Hope," which begins Nov. 25, calls upon us, wherever we are in the world, to raise awareness of violence against women and to speak out against it.

Acts of violence by men against women are the leading cause of injury to women. Women often die from domestic violence, especially here in the U.S., where three to four women die each day. Injury, disability, loss of income, stress, post traumatic stress disorder, abuse of alcohol or drugs and suicide attempts can result from this violence. Moreover, children exposed to violence in the home will suffer consequences, too.

Men can also be the victims of domestic violence: Most often they are victims of ``common couple violence," which entails hitting or throwing things. They are not often the victims of battering, a more severe form of domestic violence, and, typically, when a man leaves a violent home, he leaves violence behind. For women, the danger escalates.

Men also suffer injuries and violence can lead to homicide. However, strangers pose the greatest risk to males, while intimate partners and family members pose the greatest harm to women.

Not all males use violence towards females. In fact, the majority does not. We need men to model this self-control and morality. We need this ``silent majority's" help.

I attended a femicide conference in New York City last week and learned a great deal. Ted Bunch, co-founder of ``A Call to Men," talked about the privileges accorded to men in society. He said men are socialized to view women as having less value, being objects rather than humans and being the property of men.

Indeed, he provided an example to illustrate this. If you see a stranger, a male, strike a woman in public, what is your response? Now, imagine you see a husband strike his wife? Do you have a different reaction? Many people do. Some believe husbands have a ``right" to hit their wives. Some believe it is a ``private matter" and do not want to intervene. These beliefs treat the woman as the property of her husband. We must remember that women are not property; we are humans first, deserving of human rights, and wives second. As the U.N. campaign reminds us, women deserve human rights, such as a right to protection from harm, whether that harm is from a stranger, a husband or a boyfriend.

And as Einstein reminds us, silence condones an action and allows it to continue. The ``silent majority" ― those that do not use violence ― condone violence with their silence. We must break this silence and take a stand against violence ― all of us together.

We can start by valuing women. Discrimination against women is the very foundation of gender-based violence. You do not rape, stalk, harass, injure or kill people that have value and respect.

We can redefine what it means to be a man. Many of the definitions we use rely on acts of aggression and control. Men cannot control women, just as women cannot control men. And while men believe respect and authority is paramount to being a man, so it is for being a woman, too.

Not only do beliefs regarding gender roles contribute to violence, but studies have also found that dissatisfaction, jealousy, mental disorders, relationship problems, anger and hostility are related to violent behavior in men. These men rationalize their violence, trivialize it, deny it and blame others. These actions are counterproductive to change. Only accountability and the desire to deal with problems constructively produce change -skills most men have and could model for others.

Our morals should guide us to choose non-violence in our personal relationships. These morals should lead us to make laws and enforce them, to raise men and women as problem-solvers that do not resort to violence and to treat all members of society with respect and dignity. Only then can we live in a truly civilized society.

Sixteen Days of Hope is also called 16 Days of Activism. Let's act by breaking the silence that condones violence in interpersonal relationships. The ``silent majority" can contribute significantly to a solving this public health epidemic and human rights violation.

``All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." ― Edmund Burke

Joan Dawson writes about health, human rights and travel. She worked in Korea as a textbook editor; she now resides in Washington, D.C