NCJWA ACTION ALERT

Take action in the16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence

NCJWA encourages its sections and members to hold events from 25 November – 10 December in solidarity with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence. This is in accordance with the priorities developed by ICJW, which has urged affiliates to take action during this campaign period.

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an annual global campaign to raise awareness about the high levels of violence against women around the world, and to urge the international community to do more to protect women and children. The campaign begins on November 25, the International Day Against Violence Against Women and ends on Human Rights Day on December 10. It encompasses other significant dates - November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, World AIDS Day on December 1, and the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6, when 14 women engineering students were murdered by a male student.

Violence against women, or gender violence, is a major cause of death and ill health around the world, and this includes ‘developed’ countries. Throughout their lifetime, in peace as well as war, women face discrimination and violence in their families, communities and through government laws and policies, action or inaction. Violence against women takes many forms including systematic and institutionalised rape in times of conflict and as a weapon of war. Depending on the country, 25 to 75 % of women are regularly assaulted at home. Amnesty International has called gender violence the world's most pervasive human rights violation, and see governments’ lack of action to address it as the greatest human rights scandal of our times.

Participants in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign use creative and innovative means of bringing these issues to the forefront in local, national, regional and global arenas. The campaign:

• raises awareness about gender violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
• strengthens local work around violence against women
• establishes a clear link between local and international work to end violence against women
• provides a forum in which organisers can develop and share new and effective strategies
• creates tools to pressure governments to implement promises made to eliminate violence against women.

Suggestions for Action

·         Join or organise an event in your area to draw attention to violence against women, and/or lobby governments and communities to do more to end violence and provide appropriate support to victims. Offices for Women in states and territories usually provide information on their websites about events and NCJWA members should consider attending some of these.

·         The 2011 Take Action Kit from the Center for Women's Global Leadership provides more ideas for taking action.

More information can be found at:

1. The Center for Women's Global Leadership - 16 Days Take Action Kit is available for download on http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/

2. Amnesty International  http://www.amnesty.org.au/svaw/

3. State and Territory Office for Women websites.