16 Days of activism on gender-based violence: What is it?

Every year from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, activists and women’s rights groups across the world campaign against violence inflicted on women.

Hyderabad: Every year from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, activists and women’s rights groups across the world campaign against violence inflicted on women.

The campaign was first started at the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991. It runs for a total of 16 days till December 10, Human Rights Day. The campaign continues to be coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership.

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“It is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls (sic),” reads a UN Women blog.

In 2022, the campaign is continuing its multi-year theme of Ending Femicide (the murder of a woman). According to a recent report released by the UN, 45,000 women and girls – more than half (56%) of the 81,100 murdered last year worldwide – were killed by their husbands, partners, or other relatives.

Fighting the status quo, various organisations work on constructive campaigns, both digital and on-ground, to spread awareness about the violence women face and methods to end it.

The campaign sheds light not only on physical, domestic, and sexual violence, but also focuses on verbal, emotional, and mental forms of violence.

For the past few years, campaigns worldwide have also focused on stalking, online harassment, and intimate partner violence.