UN to Launch UNiTE Campaign on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

New Delhi: The United Nations will launch UniTE campaign on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The campaign is an initiative of 16 days of activism. It will start today, November 25, and will conclude on International Human Rights Day on December 10.

The campaign is led by the UN Secretary-General and UN Women since 2006.

This aims to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls around the world, calling for global action to increase awareness, promote advocacy, and create opportunities for discussion on challenges and solutions.

This year the campaign, ‘UNiTE! Activism to End Violence against Women & Girls will aim to mobilize society to become active in the prevention of violence against women. The campaign wants people to stand in solidarity with women’s rights activists and to support feminist movements around the world to resist the rollback on women’s rights and call for a world free from Violence against women and girls (VAWG).

According to a report, 56 percent (45,000 out of 81,000) of all women and girls were intentionally killed last year by intimate partners or other family members, demonstrating that home is not a safe place for women and girls.

The overall number of female homicides has remained unchanged over the last decade. Many victims of femicide remain anonymous and go uncounted, due to inconsistencies in definitions and criteria across countries. Roughly four in ten women and girls were killed intentionally in 2021 as femicide, particularly in public.

The UN agencies recommended that countries should improve their data collection on femicides. The countries also need to address the root causes of these killings, such as changing harmful masculinities and social norms.