THE ORIGIN OF THE 16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AND IT’S SIGNIFICANCE
16 days of activism is an annual event that starts from November 25th, The International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women to December 10th, International Human Rights Day. It began way back in 1991 during the inauguration of the Women’s Global Leadership Institute. The United Nations also launched a campaign UNITE by 2030 to End Violence Against Women back in 2008 that runs parallel to the former. Every year there is a theme selected for the campaigns. The color recognized for this campaign is orange, which symbolizes outrage towards the violence against women and a brighter future with no violence against women. This year’s theme is UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls. Everyone including governments are encouraged to show the actions they are taking towards ensuring the elimination of gender-based violence.
There are many ways that you can use to contribute towards this in your own capacity. Here is a list of some of them.
HOW TO SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN
- Donate to organizations supporting SGBV.
- Volunteer with such organizations
- Report cases of violence
- Speak up and share GBV materials on any of your social media platforms.
- Educate yourself on GBV so as to sensitize others who may not have the privilege of accessing GBV information.
- Mobilize people around us to be included in the fight against GBV.
- Have an emergency call line in your contacts to promptly report cases or share with people who may be in need.
- Recognize and understand inclusion and diversity to protect people of minority who may be going through GBV or Sexual violence.
- Fundraise towards the support of victims or organizations working towards SGBV
- Wear the colors purple or/and orange in support of this course.
IMPORTANT DAYS TO REMEMBER DURING THE 16 DAYS
- November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
- November 29 – International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
- December 1 – World AIDS Day
- December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- December 5 – Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
- December 6 – Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, which is observed as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada
- December 10 – International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Purple signifies royalty and is associated with women. It is a worldwide recognized color for gender violence awareness as it signifies evolution from lavender color in the past.
Orange signifies a brighter future where SGBV will have been eliminated and women are living freely without fear of any kind of violence. It is part of UN’s ‘Orange the World’ campaign.
