Amid the Covid-19 crisis, there has been an intensification of violence against women around the world. Especially domestic abuse and violence. To ensure the safety of women and girls, we need a global collective effort to stop it. The United Nations General Assembly has assigned November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The day encourages awareness of the fact that women are subject to various kinds of violence in the patriarchal society we live in. However, only a few of the cases of violence get reported as most of the women compromise, some women are forced to stay silent under societal pressure. The main cause for the violence especially remains hidden. 

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This international day for women highlights the measures taken to avoid and eliminate such crimes and abuse against women around the world. So every woman/girl would be free to breathe the fresh air of gender equality, that is free from violence and abuse.

The day is celebrated with an official theme every year. In 2018, the theme was”Orange the World:#HearMeToo” and in 2019 it was “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”. This year 2020, the official theme is “Orange the World: fund, respond, prevent, collect”.

Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect: 

As the world went under lockdown, the calls for domestic violence have increased five-fold. The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, the effort aims to take action to bridge the FUNDING gaps, ensure to RESPOND with essential services for survivors of violence during the Covid-19 crisis, focusing on PREVENTIVE measures,  and then COLLECT the data, so as to improve the current situation for women and girls.

Why we need to eliminate violence against women

Abuse and violence against women are one of the biggest cries for Human Rights Violations in the world today. Most crimes against women/girls remain unreported due to lack of awareness, male dominance, societal pressures, impunity, and shame surrounding the crime.

There are multiple forms of abuse that include psychological, private and public space harassment, physical abuse, rape, domestic violence, emotional abuse, humiliation, human trafficking, child marriage, sexual violence, etc.

Without putting end to the violence against women and girls, it would be hard to achieve equality among all. Without giving equal rights to women and creating new measures to ensure their safety against gender abuse, we cannot have complete development and peace in the world.