International Women’s Day

MDS & Gender

By Sal Fazal

Every year since 1999, the United Nations General Assembly has marked 25^thNovember as the ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Croydon Community against Trafficking condemns all forms of violence against women and girls and supports movements and resolutions to eliminate violence against women and girls. At CCAT, our aim is to not just to stop trafficking and modern slavery but also to eliminate gender-based violence. Modern-day slavery and human trafficking involve sexual violence against women and girls. On this day, we fully support and appreciate the work and efforts of other women’s rights organisations and human rights defenders to end violence against women and girls.

Modern day slavery refers to exploitation of a person who cannot refuse or leave a situation because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power. Almost 71% of overall victims of modern-day slavery are estimated to be women and girls. Click herefor more information. It is a well-established fact that women face additional risks in modern slavery situations. They endure not only sexual violence from their exploiters but also extreme isolation and further discrimination. We still have a long road ahead in order to end modern slavery and violence against women. With International institutions recognition of forced marriage as a form of slavery, along with the UK government’s tough new measures to reduced demand for trafficked women and the withdrawal of adult adverts from newspapers such as Newsquest, we are moving in the right direction. CCAT has been actively influencing the policies on modern slavery and human trafficking for sexual exploitation and to end sexual violence locally and nationally. We have also helped Croydon council and police to prioritise the issue of sexual violence and slavery so as to stop the injustice of human trafficking for sexual trafficking within Croydon. For more info on our achievements, please visit our website by clicking here.

This year due to Covid-19 pandemic, reports show a marked increase in the sexual violence cases against women. Click herefor more information and stats. One in three women worldwide suffer from either physical or sexual violence mostly by their partner. There is an urgent need to do more during this time by raising awareness and supporting the charities working which protect and support the victims. In order to raise awareness this year, the UN’s 16 day of activities against Gender-based violence will begin on 25^thNovember, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10^thDecember, Human Rights Day. The global theme for this year is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect”. For more information about “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect” and action ideas, please click here.

To make a difference during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and support vulnerable women and girl survivors of violence to stay safe and free of violence, please support the cause by either volunteering or through your generous donations.