(NUPGE) In 1999, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime - with the abuser usually someone known to her.
Women's activists have marked this date as a day against violence since 1981. The date commemorates the brutal assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, in 1960 on orders of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
In a global message UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Violence against women and girls takes many forms and is widespread throughout the globe. On this International Day, I urge governments and partners around the world to harness the energy, ideas and leadership of young people to help us to end this pandemic of violence. Only then will we have a more just, peaceful and equitable world.”
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women also launches the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, which runs through Dec. 10, Human Rights Day.
Take Action
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) joins with people around the world in recognizing the need to eliminate all forms of violence against women.
NUPGE encourages all Canadians to:
Work to raise awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels;
Get involved at a local level with organizations working to end violence against women and protect those suffering from domestic abuse; and
Lobby the federal and provincial governments to ensure that funding for women’s organizations that give voice to this issue are reinstated.
Together we can create a world that is free from violence, discrimination and injustice.