16 days of activism: The campaign in focus
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual campaign that began on 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through until International Human Rights Day on 10th December.
Led by civil society, the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General's UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative. This year, the UN marks the 16 Days under the theme "UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls".
Over the course of these 16 days, I want to use my platform to raise awareness and to campaign for change.
Yesterday, I visited Glasgow East Women's Aid in Easterhouse to start off the 16 days and to talk to staff there about the vital support they are providing.
Today, I want to bring the campaign into focus and explain why it is still so crucial in 2022.
Across the world:
- More than 1 in 3 women experience gender-based violence during their lifetime.
- In 2021, nearly 1 in 5 women aged 20-24 were married before turning 18.
- Less than 40 per cent of women who experience violence seek help of any sort.
Violence against women and girls remains the most pervasive human rights violation around the world. Already heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, its prevalence is now being further increased by the intersecting crises of climate change, global conflict and economic instability.
Against this setting, a backlash against women's rights is underway around the world. Anti-feminist movements are on the rise, attacks against women human rights defenders and activists are up, and the legal status of women's rights is increasingly imperiled in many countries. Regressive new laws are exacerbating impunity for perpetrators of domestic violence, governments are using force against femicide and gender-based violence protestors, and women's rights organizations are being increasingly marginalized.
Despite these discouraging trends, there is more proof than ever that violence against women and girls is preventable. Evidence shows that the single most important driver of policy change is a strong and autonomous women's movement—making feminist mobilization in the face of anti-rights backlash a literal matter of life and death.
This 16 Days, I want to help amplify the voices of survivors and activists and support women's organizations
You too can join in the 16 Days of Activism by sharing activist posts online and in doing so help to reduce and prevent violence against women and girls, and protect women's rights.
