This year is the 30th anniversary of the Global 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign. It was first launched in 1991, and is currently the most widely recognized and longest-running campaign for women’s rights in the world and is focused on raising awareness about violence against women and children.
The campaign runs from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. #16DaysofActivism
The UN theme for 2021 is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!“, and the founding organisation, the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership is focusing specifically on the issue of “femicide or the gender-related killing of women.”
Orange the World – Orange is the colour designated by the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. As a bright and optimistic colour, orange represents a future free from violence against women and girls.
In 2021, in addition to the anniversary theme, the Campaign will continue its program activities to end gender-based violence (GBV) in the world of work by focusing on the link between domestic violence and the world of work, drawing on legal standards outlined in ILO Convention 190 (C190) and the actions put forward in Recommendation 206 (R206).
COVID-19 has presented us with new challenges which call for individual and collective solutions. Let’s continue our efforts all year round from 16 to 365 days of activism, to advance the human rights of women. A world without violence is possible and this moment demands unparalleled courage and joint action to make this vision a reality.
The Global 16 Days Campaign is an organising strategy for individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence against women and and to:
- raise awareness about gender-based violence against women as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels
- strengthen local work around gender-based violence against women
- establish a clear link between local and international work to end gender-based violence against women
- provide a forum in which organizers can develop and share new and effective strategies
- demonstrate the solidarity of women around the world organizing against gender-based violence against women
- create tools to pressure governments to implement commitments to eliminate gender-based violence against women
Over 6000+ organizations in approximately 187 countries have participated in the Global 16 Days Campaign since 1991, with a reach of 300 million.
To read more about the new vision for the campaign, click here.
To support our contributions to the campaign, be sure to follow our social media channels and engage with our content:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OLASisters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OLAireland
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olasistersireland/