In commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women yesterday 25th November, Sierra Leone joined the rest of the world and kickstarted the 16 Days of Activism global campaign. In his tweet President Bio assured that “on this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, #16Days, my government commits to keeping gender and women’s empowerment as the highest priorities as we work towards a more peaceful, just, and inclusive society.”
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres’ “UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence Against Women” campaign is marking the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, starting yesterday and ending 10th December.
The campaign’s global theme, “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. Meanwhile, UN Women’s ‘Generation Equality’ campaign is amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls.
The campaign is part of UN Women’s efforts for Beijing+25 and building up to launch bold new actions and commitments to end violence against women at the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico and France in 2021.
This year is like no other. Even before COVID-19 hit, violence against women and girls had reached pandemic proportions. Globally, 243 million women and girls were abused by an intimate partner in the past year. Meanwhile, less than 40 percent of women who experience violence report it or seek help.
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.
In others, formal reports of domestic violence have decreased as survivors find it harder to seek help and access support through the regular channels. School closures and economic strains left women and girls poorer, out of school and out of jobs, and more vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, forced marriage, and harassment. In April 2020, as the pandemic spread across the world, the UN Secretary-General called for “peace at home”, and 146 Member States responded with their strong statement of commitment. In recent months 135 countries have strengthened actions and resources to address violence against women as part of the response to COVID-19. Yet, much more is needed.
Although the voices of activists and survivors have reached a crescendo that cannot be silenced or ignored, ending violence against women will require more investment, leadership and action. It cannot be sidelined; it must be part of every country’s national response, especially during the unfolding COVID-19 crisis.
For the 16 Days of Activism, UN Women handed over the mic to survivors, activists and UN partners on the ground to tell the story of what happened after COVID-19 hit.
By Ophaniel Gooding