16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM – ORANGE DAYS
The 25th of November to the 10th of December of every year has been designated as Orange Days by the UN, while the 25th of every month has been declared Orange Day by the UN in order to amplify the impact of the UN Secretary-General’s campaign, UNiTE to End Violence against Women.
25 November – The International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women marks the launch of 16 days of activism to conclude on 10 December- Human Rights Day
DRESS CODE
Participants are encouraged to wear a touch of orange in solidarity with the cause – to symbolize a brighter future and a world free from violence against women and girls.
THEME
The 2018 theme is Orange the World: #HearMeToo
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is an epidemic ravaging all strata of society and the most prevalent and devastating human rights violations in our world
* It remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma, poverty and shame surrounding it.
* It manifests in physical, psychological and Economical forms:
intimate partner violence
Husband and Wife, Boy friend and Girl friend (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, economic, femicide);
sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse( child molestation), forced marriage, child Marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber- harassment);
human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);
female genital mutilation
The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty/ Isolation from family and friends, brain washing, humiliation whether occurring in public or in private life.”
ADVERSE EFFECTS
psychological, sexual and reproductive health consequences affect women at all stages of their life, educational disadvantages:
-obstacle to universal schooling and the right to education for girls
-restricting access to higher education
– limited opportunities for women in the labour market.
VICTIMS
While gender-based violence can happen to anyone, anywhere, some women and girls are particularly vulnerable – •young girls and older women
•women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender
•migrants and refugees- especially women and girls in crises/war in the IDP Camps-
•indigenous women and ethnic minorities, or •women and girls living with HIV and disabilities.
•indigent women
GREAT OBSTACLE
Violence against women continues to be a great obstacle to achieving gender equality, development, peace, fulfillment and enjoyment of human rights.
It is pertinent to note that putting an end to violence against women and girls is a fundamental condition precedent to the attainment of the SDGs
– leave no one behind-
ALARMING AND WORRISOME DATA
• 1 in 3 women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most frequently by an intimate partner
• Only 52% of women married or in a union freely make their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care
• Worldwide, almost 750 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday
• 200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM)
• 1 in 2 women killed worldwide were killed by their partners or family in 2012, while only
1 out of 20 men were killed under similar circumstances
• 71% of all human trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls, and 3 out of 4 of these women and girls are sexually exploited
• Violence against women is as serious a cause of death and incapacity among women of reproductive age as cancer, and a greater cause of ill health than traffics accidents and malaria combined.
Hopefully the world is awake and ready to act
GLOBAL ACTION
Lots of events are being coordinated by both the private and public sector to recall the need for a violence-free future.
Join the campaign! You can participate in person or on social media via the following hashtags:
#OrangeUrWorld,
#OrangeTheWorld,
#HearMeToo
#EndVAW.
#StopViolence
#NoToViolence
#SpeakOut
#ReportViolence
Let’s unite and take deliberate action to End Violence Against Women and Girls!
Call now
08100996340
09098585332
08036693504
info@awlanigeria.org
www.awla.org.ng