And the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
The 25th of November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It also kicks off the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence around the world.
COVID19 and the Shadow Pandemic
Before the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, gender-based violence was already at pandemic levels. Almost 18% of women and girls aged 15 to 29 years who have been in a relationship have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the last 12 months. Only 40% of women and girls who experience violence, report it.
The beginning of the COVID19 pandemic saw those numbers rise, as orders were made to stay at home to attempt to stop the spread of the virus. Domestic and cyber violence reports increased, while at the same time essential services that had to change their model of service to online where movement was restricted, reported a drop in women accessing them.
In Australia, both nationally and statewide, our governments have increased funding through the pandemic to combat violence against women through the pandemic, in an effort to address frontline and prevention factors.
Orange the World: Find, Respond, Prevent, Collect!
This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: Find, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. It calls for global action to amplify the need to bridge funding gaps, provide resources and essential services for survivors of violence during the COIVD19 pandemic, focus on the prevention of gender-based violence and the collection of data.
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Today, although more light has been shone on gender-based violence than ever, much more is needed to be done to address the prevention of gender-based violence.
The 16 Days of Activism is a global initiative used to highlight ways in which we can prevent gender-based violence in our everyday lives and take action to prevent violence before it starts.
Each week My La Trobe will publish an article with 8 days of ways in which you can incorporate our 16 days’ theme: “Call It Out (Respect Is)” into your lives for 2 weeks.
Look out for them on the blog!
The 16 days end on the 10th December, Human Rights Day.
At La Trobe
At La Trobe, our Safer Community program is a free, confidential support service if you are experiencing concerning, threatening, inappropriate or uncomfortable behaviour. This can be witnessed or experienced both on and off-campus.
Visit our website for more information.