16 Days Of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Children
We all know the joke that Women’s Day gives women one day a year to be the centre of attention, while men get the other 364. But women also get another 16 days a year dedicated to them. Sadly it’s not a celebration, it’s the very necessary 16 Days of Activism Against Violence Against Women and Children, an annual international campaign that runs from 25th November to 10th December.
The bad news is that every year it seems to become more necessary than ever. While violence against women and children can be particularly brutal in South Africa, we are certainly not alone. Horror stories are emerging from the Middle East and Nigeria, where ISIS and Boko Haram terrorists have the suppression of women as a core tenet of their warped philosophies.
In all countries, the reported cases of rape, domestic violence and assaults are just a small fraction of the incidents that actually occur. South Africa’s official police statistics for 2012/'13 say that 827 children were murdered, or more than two a day, and another 21,575 were assaulted. In the same period 2,266 women were murdered, and 141,130 were victims of attempted murder and assault.
The 16 Days of Activism campaign was launched by the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991. Its mission is to call for the elimination of violence against women by highlighting gender-based violence as a human rights abuse, helping relevant organisations to develop and share effective strategies, and creating tools to pressure governments to implement their promises of eliminating the scourge.
Organisations are fighting abuse in almost every country. One of these organisations is Madre, which coordinates a network of community-based women’s organisations worldwide. Madre is highly concerned about the spread of ISIS right now. “ISIS uses violence against women to terrorise communities and impose their agenda for an Islamist state, one in which women would be stripped of basic rights,” Madre says. “In areas of Iraq and Syria, ISIS has barred women and girls from going to school, holding jobs or even being in public without male ‘guardians’.”
Horrific accounts are emerging of mass sexual slavery. In conquered areas, ISIS is forcing families to hand over their daughters to be raped by its terrorists “in the name of God’s will”. Those who refuse are beaten or killed. Hundreds of Iraqi women have been captured and Madre knows of a school, a cinema and a sports centre where women are imprisoned, taken to a market and literally sold to ISIS fighters as their private property.
Madre and the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq have opened a women’s shelter and emergency rescue route in ISIS-controlled territory, providing refuge, medical care and counselling to women who have fled their homes or escaped from slavery. In Syria, Madre is helping to providehumanitarian aid, including midwifery and contraception, and documenting violations to be used in future justice processes.
Half a world away, Canada always seems like a peaceful haven, but even women there are not immune to violence. Statistics Canada says half the women in Canada have experienced at least one incident of physical or sexual violence since the age of 16, and are unlikely to report it to the police.
The Canadian Council of Muslim Women says that despite advances in the fight to counter violence against women and girls, including international legal conventions, declarations, and grassroots mobilisation, it remains a continuous and systematic problem.
Since it is a global problem, the potential solutions may also be global. One of Amnesty International’s campaigns is “My Body, My Rights”, which calls on governments and other agencies to protect the sexual and reproductive rights of young women and adolescent girls.
The project covers a broad range of activities with women in rural and urban communities and in schools. The programme also recognises the need for men to participate, since men must be part of the solution in ending the violation of women’s rights.
Amnesty emphasises that women have the right to make decisions about their own health; decide whether and when to have children; choose whether or not to marry; have access to family planning, contraception, and legal abortions in the case of rape, incest or threat to health or life; receive maternal health care; and live without fear of rape and other violence.
These are rights that every woman agrees with, and every government should act upon. But men control most governments, and run terrorist organisations and armies that use rape as a weapon of war, and some individual men believe it is their right to abuse their partner or their children. That means women around the world are still denied some of these rights. Worse, women in some situations are being denied all of them.
<sidebar> What You Can Do
By supporting South Africa’s 16 Days of Activism, individuals can increase the awareness of abuse and build support for victims and survivors.
· Wear the white ribbon to show your own commitment to never committing or condoning violence against women and children.
· Volunteer for organisations that support abused women and children, perhaps by helping to plant a garden at a shelter or by joining as a counsellor. Investigate how your skills and knowledge could help victims of abuse.
· Donate money to relevant organisations, such as the Foundation for Human Rights (+27 11 339 5560).
· Speak out against abuse. Encourage victims to talk about abuse and get help. Report child abuse to the police.
· Seek help if you are emotionally, physically or sexually abusive to your partner or children. Call the Stop Gender Based Violence helpline (0800-150-150).
· Join community policing forums or volunteer as a police reservist by contacting your local police station.
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