Since 1999, November 25 has been designated by the UN General Assembly
as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It
is a day that has been marked by women’s rights activists around the
world since 1981.
This year the stats are as bad as they ever were. Across the world, one
in three women experience physical or sexual violence, the majority of
which is perpetrated by their partner. Every week in the UK, the
equivalent of two women are killed by their current partner or a former
partner.
Today is marked by activists and survivors with rage and disbelief, and
ultimately a sense of frustration. Another year has passed and across
the globe millions more women and girls have been brutalised or killed
at the hands of predominately male perpetrators. Violence against women
and girls continues to be at epidemic proportion.
Returning to this day, year on year only to feel aghast and ashamed at
the sheer scale of gender-based violence will do little to change the
plight of women and girls across the globe. What we need to do is
prevent the violence from happening in the first place.
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