This is an archive of news stories and research from the National Union of Public and General Employees. Please see our new site - https://nupge.ca - for the most current information.
'A problem of pandemic proportions.' - UN
Ottawa (25 Nov. 2008) – Each year countries around the world observe November 25th as the International Day to End Violence Against Women. The day commemorates the death of the three Mirabel sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, who were brutally assassinated in 1960.
As the United Nations states, “Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions.” Violence against women and girls continues in every country and every culture.
The statistics paint a horrifying picture:
- One in every three women worldwide will be beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime. One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape.
- Women aged 15-44 are at a higher risk of death and disability through domestic violence than through cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria.
- Annually, two million girls between ages five and 15 are introduced into the commercial sex market.
- 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone female genital mutilation.
16 days of activism
Each year, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women also kicks off the 16 “Days of Activism”, a worldwide effort to raise awareness about gender-based violence, between November 25th and December 10th which is International Human Rights Day. These dates were chosen to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that violence against women is a violation of human rights.
This year, the campaign coincides with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The international theme for 2008 is Human Rights for Women, Human Rights for All: UDHR60, highlighting the link between human rights and women’s rights and that human rights cannot be real and authentic if women’s rights are not respected and realized.
Take Action
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) joins with people around the world in recognizing the need to eliminate all forms of violence against women.
NUPGE encourages all Canadians to:
- Work to raise awareness about gender-based violence as a human rights issue at the local, national, regional and international levels.
- Get involved at a local level with organizations working to end violence against women and protect those suffering from domestic abuse.
- Lobby the federal and provincial governments to ensure that funding for women’s organizations that give voice to this issue are reinstated.
- Lobby the federal government to place pressure on the United Nations to form a women’s agency within its organization.
Together we can create a world that is free from violence, discrimination and injustice. NUPGE