International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

The United Nations General Assembly adopts resolution 54/134, officially designating 25 November as the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 7 February 2000; And in doing so, inviting governments, international organizations as well as NGOs to join together and organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the issue every year on that date. Despite the adoption of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the UN General Assembly in 1979, violence against women and girls remains a pervasive problem worldwide. To that end, the General Assembly issued resolution 48/104, laying the foundation for the road towards a world free of gender-based violence. Another bold step in the right direction was embodied by an initiative launched in 2008 and known as the UNiTE to End Violence against Women.

FORUM: ''COVID-19 and violence against women''- International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2020.

Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - to leave no one behind - cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls.

  1. UN supporting ‘trapped’ domestic violence victims during the pandemic

  2. Put women and girls at the centre of efforts to recover from COVID-19.

  3. Violence against women is a key part of national response plans for COVID-19.

CAMPAIGN: 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, from 25th November - 10 December 2020 .

Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect! Raise public awareness around the issue as well as increase both policymaking and resources dedicated to ending violence against women and girls worldwide. As countries implemented lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, violence against women, especially domestic violence, intensified – in some countries, calls to helplines have increased five-fold. You can make a difference and participate in person or on social media using our official material! Start your own conversation about gender-based violence using the hashtags: #GenerationEquality #orangetheworld #16days and #spreadtheword.


Statement by the United Nations Secretary-General on International Day for the elimination of violence against women 2020, November 25th

Violence against women and girls is a global human rights challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed this issue as a global emergency requiring urgent action at all levels, in all spaces and by all people. The social and economic fallout from the pandemic is disproportionately pushing women and girls into poverty, and the risk of violence against them is rising.

In April this year, I urged the international community to work to end the shadow pandemic of gender-based violence once and for all. I reiterate and relaunch that appeal today.

The global community needs to hear the voices and experiences of women and girls and take into account their needs, especially survivors and those who face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. We must also prioritize women’s leadership in finding solutions and engage men in the struggle.

Action must involve predictable and flexible funding for women’s rights organizations, who so often act as first responders during crises. It is critical that services for survivors of violence remain open, with adequate resources and measures in place to support health, social and justice responses.

These measures should not only focus on intervening once violence against women has occurred. They should work to prevent violence occurring in the first place, including through addressing social norms and power imbalances, and police and judicial systems need to increase accountability for perpetrators and end impunity.

On this international day, let us redouble our efforts to eradicate gender-based violence forever.

António Guterres; U.N. Secretary-General.


OTHERS STATEMENTS


AUDIO & VIDEO PODCASTS

In 2017, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations launched the Spotlight Initiative, which aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by raising the awareness of this issue, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Multimedia Material