Consign violence against women and girls, ‘to the history books’: UN chief

Every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member, the UN chief said ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, commemorated on 25 November, urging everyone to “consign violence against women and girls to the history books”. 

From the COVID-19 pandemic to economic turmoil, a range of stresses intensify physical and verbal abuse.  

Meanwhile, misogynistic hate speech and sexual harassment trigger rampant online exploitation against women and girls.  

“This discrimination, violence and abuse targeting half of humanity comes at a steep cost”, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored in his message for the day.  

“It limits women’s and girls’ participation in all walks of life, denies their basic rights and freedoms, and blocks the equal economic recovery and sustainable growth our world needs”.  

A woman leads a focus group in Mali, where she sensitizes girls and women against all forms of violence, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, in order to bring behavior change.

He upheld that it is time for “transformative action” that ends violence against women and girls – the most pervasive human rights violation in the world. 

The top UN official outlined what needed to be done, including that governments design, fund and implement national action plans to tackle this scourge.  

Moreover, grassroots and civil society groups must be involved at every stage of decision-making and all laws “implemented and respected”, so survivors can see their rights to justice and support upheld.  

He also urged everyone to support public campaigns that challenge patriarchal norms and promote different forms of masculinities that reject misogyny and violence.  

According to the UN chief, this year’s theme, “UNITE: Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls”, reminds everyone to stand with activists around the world demanding change and support survivors of violence.  

“I call on governments to increase funding by 50 per cent to women’s rights organizations and movements by 2026”, he stated.  

In closing, the Secretary-General advocated for the world to “take a stand and raise our voices in support of women’s rights…[and] proudly declare: We are all feminists”. 

“Supporting and investing in strong, autonomous women’s rights organizations and feminist movements is key to ending violence against women and girls”, says the UN. 

16 days of activism 

The International Day also kicks off the UNiTE campaign, an initiative of 16 days of activism that runs from 25 November to 10 December and concludes on International Human Rights Day. 

This campaign aims to prevent and eliminate VAWG, calling for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy and create opportunities to discuss challenges and solutions. 

This year, UNITE will mobilize all society globally to stand in solidarity with women’s rights activists and to support feminist movements to resist any rollback on women’s rights.