By Jasmine Keating
Today, Thursday 25th November 2021, marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Since 1981 women’s activists have dedicated this day towards ending violence. Then, in 1999, the UN General Assembly officially recognised the 25th November as a day to bring governments, charities, communities and people from around the world together to raise awareness for ending violence against women (Global Dimension, 2021).
Violence perpetuated towards women and girls is widespread around the world. When we talk about violence we are talking about all forms of violence experienced by women and girls. This includes, but is not limited to, intimate partner violence, sexual violence and harassment, human trafficking, female genital mutilation and child marriage. With almost 1 in 3 women experiencing abuse during their lifetime (UN, 2021), 603 million women living in countries where domestic abuse isn’t considered a crime and around 640,000 women and girls being trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation it is evident that this is a shadow pandemic very much in need of our support (Global Dimension, 2021).
In the UK over the past year, the death of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa rightly captured media headlines and drew widespread condemnation. However, what about all of the women whose deaths don’t make the news? On 13th November 2021, Counting Dead Women tweeted that at least 122 women in the UK have either been murdered by a man, or murdered in circumstances where a man is the main suspect, since 1st January 2021 (Counting Dead Women, 2021). In addition to the violence already faced by women, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase of abuse towards women. A report from UN Women (2021) based on data collected from 13 countries found that 2 in 3 women reported either experiencing or knowing another woman who has experienced violence in the pandemic.
‘Stopping this violence starts with believing survivors, adopting comprehensive and inclusive approaches that tackle the root causes, transform harmful social norms, and empower women and girls. With survivor-centred essential services across policing, justice, health, and social sectors, and sufficient financing for the women’s rights agenda, we can end gender-based violence.’ (UN, 2021)
The 16 Days of Activism campaign launches today to coincide with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and will end on 10th December, Human Rights Day. This year’s theme is ‘Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!’. The colour orange has been selected as it represents a brighter future where women and girls aren’t faced with violence. We have collated a list of 16 things you can do to mark your determination to end violence against women and girls:
- Follow social media accounts dedicated to this cause 365 days a year such as @CountDeadWomen and @CCATcroydon
- Write to your MP, explaining in your own words why ending violence against women and girls is important to you. You can find out who your local MP is and their contact details here: https://members.parliament.uk/members/Commons or you can send them a message via https://www.writetothem.com/.
- Download this year’s logo ‘Orange the World’ and add it to your email signature: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/toolkit
- Download this social media package and spread the word using the hashtags #orangetheworld #16days: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/take-action/toolkit
- Write a post on social media to raise awareness and challenge 3 of your friends to do the same.
- Be inspired from watching this video of young people taking a stance on ending violence against women and girls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKzsQRgMsmI
- Read our post on how to spot the signs of modern slavery: http://theccat.com/spot-the-signs/
- Save the modern slavery helpline number in your phone and share it with others so if you see it, you can report it: 08000 121 700
- Become a CCAT member: http://theccat.com/membership/
- Become a Volunteer Campaigner with CCAT: http://theccat.com/volunteering/
- Donate to CCAT or set yourself a fundraising challenge to raise funds for CCAT: http://theccat.com/donate/
- Read this article on recognising abuse and how to help: https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/faqs/signs-of-abuse
- Watch some of these videos on TrueTube to raise your awareness: https://www.truetube.co.uk/event/international-day-elimination-violence-against-women
- Read some of the ‘Believe Survivors. Act Now’ stories via the UN Women website: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2021/11/believe-survivors-act-now-milenas-story-moldova; https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2021/11/believe-survivors-act-now-romelas-story-bangladesh; https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2021/11/believe-survivors-act-now-dianas-story-argentina
- Share your story anonymously or support others via the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts message board: https://www.wagggs.org/en/what-we-do/stop-the-violence/get-involved/raise-awareness/16-days-activism/16-days-of-activism-her-story-our-story/
- Download and read through the @16DaysCampaign Femicide Advocacy Guide: https://16dayscampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-Femicide-Advocacy-Guide.pdf
References
Counting Dead Women (2021). Available at: https://twitter.com/countdeadwomen (Accessed: 23rd November 2021)
Global Dimension (2021) ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women’. Available at: https://globaldimension.org.uk/events/international-day-for-the-elimination-of-violence-against-women/2021-11-25/ (Accessed: 23rd November 2021)
UN (2021) ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November’. Available at: https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day (Accessed: 23rd November 2021)
UN Women (2021) ‘Take action: End violence against women now!’ Available at: https://www.unwomen.org.en (Accessed: 23rd November 2021)
