16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

On 25 November 1960, three sisters from the Dominican Republic were murdered because they were actively resistant to the dictator who was running their country. Patria was 36 years old, Minerva was 33, and their little sister, Maria, was 25 years old when they were all killed.

A year later, their resistance movement succeeded in overthrowing the dictatorship, and 21 years later, in 1981, November 25 was first marked as the International Day Against Violence Against Women.

In 2001, the world remembered this day for the twentieth time; the world has adopted the White Ribbon as a symbol that violence against women is just not acceptable, and for the last 10 years, the commemoration has been extended into the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The idea of this is to draw the world's attention to the fact that Women's Rights are basic Human Rights.

The 16 Days of Activism starts on 25 November, which was eventually also recognised by the United Nations in 1999 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It includes 6 December, the anniversary of the 1989 femicidal Montreal Massacre, and it ends each year on 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day.

Hundreds of organisations in dozens of countries around the world participate in this campaign every year. A separate global movement, called the 16 Days Movement, has also emerged. The 16 Days Movement publicises the annual 16 Day Campaign; it helps organisations around the world to plan activities to draw attention to the need to counter Violence Against Women; it provides a "take action kit" and it hosts an interactive website.

This is the time of year when governments should be lobbied to recognise that violence against women is a human rights violation, and that the legal systems of all countries should ensure that women are effectively protected from this violation of their rights.

This is the time of year when the media should be encouraged to inform the public of the extent and forms that violence against women take, as well as to inform them of ways to eliminate it.

Violence Against Women prevents women from taking control over their own lives, both in their family circle and in society as a whole. This violence stands in the way of women's development, of their education, and in the way of their equal participation in society. There can be no world peace while women cannot live with safety, even in their own homes.

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