International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

"Violence against women isn't cultural, it's criminal. Equality cannot come eventually, it's something we must fight for now."

~ Samantha Power

Every year, the 25th of November is remarked as the international day for violence against women since 1981 by worldwide women’s rights activists. The date was chosen to salute the Mirabel sisters who were three political activists from the Dominican Republic. Rafael Trujillo, the country’s ruler at the time ordered the murder of three sisters in 1960. Therefore, as a tribute to the Mirabel sister the date is honored for the voices of women all around the world.

Movement of United Nations for Violence against Women and Girls

As a prominent organization which supports and seeks justice, the United Nations has taken a substantial number of actions and campaigns to extinguish the violence against women and girls in every nation without discrimination.

In this year 2022, another initiative campaign “UNiTE” will be launched to resemble the international day for the elimination of violence against women and girls. The campaign is scheduled to commence on 25th November and conclude on 10th of December, International Human Rights Day.

The entire campaign intends to encourage women to act on behalf of themselves to claim women’s rights and stand solidly as a unity to put a stop to the violence against women. Educating through awareness programs, promoting advocacy and consultation, and creating opportunities to discuss issues and encounter solutions are a few of the significant measures of this program to end violence and create a world free of violence against women and girls.

What is violence against women?

According to the definition of the United Nations, violence against women is “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. The research reveals that every one in three women globally has been subjected to any kind of violence during their lifetime.

This consists of physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, verbal or any other ways of abuse targeting a female. The consequences of the aforementioned activities can occur in different ways, affecting both the long-term and short-term. Anxiety, depression, stress, long-term mental disorders, financial issues, and physical health issues can be identified as common consequences among women who are subjected to violence.

Prevention of violence against women

Women play a key role in society maintaining tenderness and spreading love as mothers, wives, sisters, and many other ways. Hence it is crucial to halt violence against women as the whole world.

A few approaches for preventing violence are,

1. Educating and expanding the awareness.

2. Support and believe the survivors to stand tall.

3. Contacting responsible authorities.

4. Being educated about the laws and regulations regarding violence against women and girls.

5. Holding campaigns, raising funds and donations, and establishing organizations to support females.

All in all, one day per year alone would not be sufficient to eliminate violence against women and it is a long-term process of a series of necessary efforts. Let's be a source of encouragement to women who are experiencing violence in every nation and speak up for their rights as a unity from today.