Violence against women is one of the most serious issues in the world. As per an estimate, one in every three women faces sexual violence in her life. This issue was and is always under the eye of big organizations to protect women’s rights and protect them from such crimes. A woman can face violence anywhere be it a workspace, online, at home, or in public places. It is important to take strong steps to eliminate physical violence against women. I think that in spite of tackling the violence against the female sector, it is crucial to take some solid preventive steps against violence. This article covers the details of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Stay tuned and Continue Reading!
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Table of Contents
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2023 Theme
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It is an annual event started in 2007 and is celebrated across the world to protect the female sector from physical violence.
The theme for International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2023 is
“UNiTE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls!” #No Excuse. This theme emphasises the need for investment in organisations working for the betterment of women in society, better legislation, providing proper services to survivors and victims of violence, prosecution of perpetrators, and providing training to law enforcement officials.
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16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence 2023
According to recent research by unwomen.org, there is a lack of budgetary commitments in 78% of the countries in the world to implement strong lawful legislation targeting the issue of violence against women.
Due to this reason, this year the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women will mark the launch of a campaign that will function for 16 days i.e. 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence 2023. This campaign will commence on 25 November 2023 and continue till 10 December 2023.
The motive behind this event is to call on the citizens of the country to show how much they care about the global cause of ending violence against women. It also seeks support from government bodies to invest in gender-based violence prevention. The slogan for International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is #NoExcuse.
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Background of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
The issue of violence against women was registered very early and in 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted CEDAW (Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). Despite this, the violence was still increasing and for this reason, the UNGA issued a resolution 48/104 for a world free of gender-based violence. Later in 2008, a major step was taken by UNiTE to end violence against women by spreading public awareness.
The main reason behind the observance of this day was to honour the Mirabai sisters who were murdered in 1960. They were political activists and murdered by the order of Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961), the country’s ruler.
Lastly, on 7 February 2000, the General Assembly on 7 February 2000 officially adopted resolution 54/134 and designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Significance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
In 1993, The UN General Assembly issued the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, it defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”
Thus, the main motive behind celebrating this day is to prevent any sort of violence against women and girl child.
There is an urgent need to end violence as listed below:
- intimate partner violence (Femicide, psychological abuse, battering, marital rape)
- human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
- Sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber-harassment)
- Child marriage.
- Female genital mutilation.
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Relevant Blogs
Women Reservation Bill | International Day of Rural Women |
Women’s Equality Day 2023 | International Women’s Day |
National Women and Girls HIV and AIDS Awareness Day | Importance of Women’s Education |
FAQs
It is celebrated on 25 November every year to spread awareness in society about violence against women and girls and to unite and contribute to the betterment of the female sector.
The theme for International Day for Violence Against Women 2023 is “UNiTE! Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls!”.
The colour of the International Day for Violence Against Women is Orange.
We can prevent violence against women by increasing funding for policy formation and training law enforcement officials, educating and involving men in the fight against gender-based violence, sending girls to schools and encouraging them to become independent and strong, raising voices against crime, etc.
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