International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is observed on November 25 across the globe. The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.
Gender-based violence is a global problem that harms millions of women and girls and their communities and families every year. It is present in all aspects of life: in educational settings, in politics, in the workplace and in the home. Gender-based violence is a scourge that further weakens women within a system that is already discriminatory. Its forms are multiple and experienced all over the world.
On November 25, 1960, three sisters, Patria Mercedes Mirabal, María Argentina Minerva Mirabal and Antonia María Teresa Mirabal, were assassinated in the Dominican Republic on the orders of the Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabel sisters fought hard to end Trujillo’s dictatorship. Activists on women’s rights have observed a day against violence on the anniversary of the deaths of these three women since 1981.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data and reports from those on the front lines have shown that all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence has intensified. This is the Shadow Pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis and we need a global collective effort to stop it. As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity. More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts.
UN Women provides up-to-date information and support to vital programmes to fight the Shadow Pandemic of violence against women during COVID-19. As countries implemented lockdown measures to stop the spread of the corona virus, violence against women, especially domestic violence, intensified in some countries, calls to help lines have increased five-fold.
Various activities are arranged around the world to draw attention to the need for continuing action to eliminate violence against women, projects to enable women and their children to escape violence and campaigns to educate people about the consequences of violence against women. Locally, women’s groups may organize rallies, communal meals, fundraising activities and present research on violence against women in their own communities.
An ongoing campaign that people are encouraged to participate in, especially around this time of the year when awareness levels for the day are high, is the “Say NO to Violence Against Women campaign”. Through the campaign, anyone can add their name to a growing movement of people who speak out to put a halt to human rights violations against women.
The UN Secretary-General’s UNITE to End Violence against Women campaign, a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls, will focus on amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls.
This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect! Like in previous years, this year’s International Day will mark the launch of 16 days of activism that will conclude on 10 December 2020, which is International Human Rights Day. Several public events are being coordinated for this year’s International Day. Iconic buildings and landmarks will be organised to recall the need for a violence-free future.
