#orangeurworld – part of a campaign to ‘say no & unite to end violence against women’
Nov. 25 marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It also signifies the start of the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign.
UNWOMEN states that according to 2013 data, globally 35% of women have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, during their lifetime. However, they go on to state that some national violence studies show that up to 70%of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime from an intimate partner.
In addition, statistics indicate that 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime. To put it simply, this number is equal to the populations of Brazil, USA and Egypt, combined.
There are also other issues like child marriages, which leads to early and unwanted pregnancies that pose life-threatening risks for adolescent girls.
Violence against women is not a new phenomenon. And, it doesn’t seem to go away either. The statistics are disturbing. Alarming. And the stories we hear and read of various forms of violence against women are chilling. The fact is, it can happen to any woman, whatever age they are, whatever colour they are, or wherever they may live.
And raising awareness is one way to fight this.
Join the campaign. There is more on Google and on the websites of international, non-governmental and non-profit organizations addresses and work towards this cause.
