In focus: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence 2023
Date:
UN Women kicks off a UN-wide annual campaign on 25 November, the International Day to End Violence against Women.
Over the following 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, we are asking governments, institutions, and citizens to show us how much the world cares about ending violence against women and girls under the theme "UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls".
Led by civil society groups around the world, the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General’s initiative, UNITE by 2030 to End Violence against Women.
Some 736 million women — almost one in three — have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their lives. More than four in five women and girls (86 per cent) are living in countries without robust legal protection, or in countries for which data are not readily available.
No country is within reach of eradicating intimate partner violence. Despite the scale of the problem and these worrying trends, financial commitments to violence prevention remain limited. Investing in preventing violence against women and girls is crucial to achieving gender equality by 2030, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
We urge everyone to call on leaders worldwide to increase investments in preventing violence from happening in the first place.
Every effort invested in preventing violence against women is a step towards a safer, more equal, and prosperous world.
