Human Rights at Sea is lending its support and voice to the UN-led UNiTE to End Violence Against Women Campaign which runs throughout the ’16 Days of Activism’ between 25 November – 10 December 2015 ending on International Human Rights Day.
Background
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign which takes place each year and runs from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day), also encompassing other important key dates. Widely known as the ‘16 Days Campaign’, it is used as an organizing strategy by individuals and organizations around the world to call for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. It was originated by the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and is coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership.
In support of this civil society initiative, each year, the United Nations Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women calls for global action to increase worldwide awareness and create opportunities for discussion about challenges and solutions. In 2014, the UNiTE campaign called on governments, UN entities, civil society organizations and individuals across the world to ‘orange their neighbourhoods’ to raise public awareness about the issue of violence against women and girls. As one of the official colours of the UNiTE campaign symbolizing a brighter future and a world free from violence against women and girls, the colour orange was once again a uniting theme throughout all events. The initiative called on all people in all parts of world to take action in their communities, play their part and stand up against violence against women and girls.
2015 Call to Action: “Orange the World: End Violence against Women and Girls”
This year is a critical juncture for global efforts to prevent and end violence against women and girls. It marks the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA), the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights. Also, as a new global development framework, the Sustainable Development Goals, comes into force in September, now is a crucial time to advocate to ensure that violence against women and girls is high on political and public agendas, prominently placed within the new global development framework, and prioritized in its implementation.
In 1995, violence against women was highlighted as one of twelve critical areas of concern in the BDPfA but the UN Secretary-General’s report on Beijing Implementation presented twenty years later and relevant national reviews show that despite progress, levels of violence against women and girls remain unacceptably high worldwide. Slow and uneven implementation of national and legal frameworks, the insufficient attention paid to the prevention of the occurrence of violence, and persistent discrimination, gender inequality, discriminatory norms and gender stereotypes remain major obstacles to eliminating violence against women and girls.
Human Rights at Sea
CEO, David Hammond, said: “Human Rights at Sea strongly supports the UNiTE campaign and its role in continuing to address ending violence against women and girls. This includes violence within the maritime environment against female seafarers, fishers and families of those who work at sea. Awareness of the root causes of violence against women, the effects of violence and the measures that we should adopt to stop such violence are essential to upholding and protecting the human rights of women and children.”
“I would encourage the maritime community to overlty support the UNiTE campaign and as requested this year by UN Women to “KEEP THE WORLD ORANGE THROUGHOUT THE 16 DAYS“. Human Rights at Sea hopes to see the shipping and fishing industries respond to the UNiTE call to action for 2015.”
UNiTE Social Media Resources
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SayNO_UNiTE #orangetheworld #16days
Facebook: http://facebook.com/SayNO.UNiTE
YouTube: http://youtube.com/saynotoviolence
Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/saynotoviolence
UNiTE website: http://endviolence.un.org/
