International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

The United Nations General Assembly has designated every November 25th International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This year we would like to draw attention to this day and the important human rights issues that it represents. 1 in 3 women around the world have experienced physical or sexual violence. November 25th is about acknowledging violence against women as a human rights violation, the persisting inequalities between men and women, as well as recognizing this violence as a global pandemic that is preventable. But it’s not just about awareness, it’s also about getting people mobilized to help and funding actual efforts to prevent and end the violence.

Adequate funding for programs to prevent and end violence against girls and women has been a significant challenge in the fight to make a real difference. The UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign is one such effort. It aims to get governments, the media, the private sector and others involved in ending this pandemic of violence through laws, national prevention plans, as well as more accurate forms of data collection and analyses to document the prevalence of violence. But like so many others, they suffer from a lack of funding.

We would like to take the month of November to focus some attention on this issue and try to help campaigns like UNiTE that need our help to continue fighting. If you can, please take a moment to donate to their campaign. Some of their efforts include printing and distributing manuals about gender based violence, as well as providing training for police officers to better help and support women who are survivors of violence.

This year, the UNiTE campaign is using the phrase “Orange the World,” which uses the campaign’s color to signify a brighter future without violence. They will organize events using the color orange to draw attention to the issue and encourage others to organize “orange” events in their communities.