16 Days of Activism: Standing Against Gender-Based Violence

Two homicides in two weeks in the normally quiet city of Portland, Maine, led Steve McCausland of the Maine State Police to observe that “you are far more likely to be killed in Maine by someone who loves you or loved you than by a stranger.” Of the 22 homicides committed in Maine during the last year, 10 were acts of domestic violence. McCausland added that for the last 20 years, fully 50 percent of Maine’s homicides have been acts of domestic violence.

Tragically, these types of statistics are not limited to Maine; they are being repeated all over the world in otherwise “safe, quiet communities.” It is because of these victims and thousands more that communities throughout the world are once again embracing the 16 Days of Activism Campaign. The dates November 25 – December 10, 2009, mark the 19th year of 16 days of organized actions in communities across the globe to end gender-based violence.

The campaign is the brainchild of 23 women from every region of the world who came together in 1991. Organized by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), they met to discuss women’s leadership and the issue of violence against women. Denouncing violence against women as a fundamental violation of human rights, they left the conference with a commitment to bring worldwide focus and action to this issue. The 16 Days of Activism Campaign was born.

The dates that mark the 16 days were chosen strategically; the opening date marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the closing date is International Human Rights Day. This year’s theme is Commit · Act · Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women! To date, more than 2800 organizations in 156 countries have participated in the 16 Days of Activism Campaign.

CWGL produces a Take Action Kit with lots of suggestions on how you can take action and make a difference.

This is a worldwide campaign with communities around the world participating. Find out how the 16 Days of Activism are being observed across Ireland. Then, watch this slideshow of 2008 actions in Ireland.

Read what the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says about the connection between violence against women and women’s health issues across the world. Learn what they’re doing to take action during the 16 Days.

Last, view a Flickr pictorial of communities from Cameroon to Austria taking a stand against domestic violence during the 2008 16 Days.

Click on the map at 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence to see events planned around the world.

To learn more about Eagle’s Wings work to end gender-based violence, visit our website at eagles-wings-ministry.com.

Tagged with: 16 Days of Activism • CWGL • Domestic Violence • gender-based violence • International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women • International Human Rights Day • USAID

Filed under: Domestic Violence

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