Awareness
According to the United Nations, approximately 1 in 3 women globally has been subjected to violence at least once in their lifetime. Despite the fact that violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, only 5% of government aid is devoted to tackling it, and less than 0.2% is directed to its prevention.
In an effort to improve these statistics, the 25th of November is annually recognised as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This day marks the start of the yearly UNiTE campaign, a 16-day initiative of activism that concludes on December 10th in commemoration of International Human Rights Day.
This year’s UNiTE campaign is “Invest to Prevent Violence against Women & Girls,” and calls on governments across the globe to show how they are investing in programmes, services, and policies to end VAWG. The 2023 campaign’s #NoExcuse slogan also calls upon us regular citizens to do our part in the fight against VAWG.
Defining VAWG
The UN’S 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines VAWG 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.” This includes intimate partner violence (e.g., battering), sexual violence (e.g., rape, street harassment), human trafficking, female genital mutilation, and child marriage
Although nearly 30% of all women and girls experience VAWG, those who have disabilities or are living through humanitarian crises, as well as those who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender, migrants, and ethnic minorities, are more vulnerable to violence. The effects of such violence on women and girls remain present at all stages of life, from experiencing educational disadvantages in childhood, to losing their homes and jobs, or facing mental health issues and substance abuse later in life.
The Start of the UNiTe Campaign
On November 25th of 1960, three sisters from the Dominican Republic – known as the Mirabal sisters – were violently assassinated by the Rafaelo Trujillo dictatorship for their role in the country’s resistance movement. Their deaths were commemorated in July of 1981, when a group of Latin American and Caribbean feminist activists united at the Feminist Encuentro conference in Bogota, Colombia, and chose November 25th as the day for no violence against women. Their proposal was taken to the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and subsequently adopted by the UN in 1999.
In 2008, the UN Secretary-General extended the day into a 16-day campaign – the first UNiTE initiative – in the hopes of bringing the UN, women’s organisations, media, and international citizens together to end VAWG. During this time in Canada we also observe the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, to remember the women who were murdered at the Polytechnique Montréal mass shooting on December 6th, 1989.
Explicit and Implicit VAWG
VAWG is a direct result of the social inequality, sexism, and misogyny that pervade all levels of society. That is, the attitudes and beliefs we have about women, their roles, and their position in the social hierarchy directly influence people’s infliction of violence on women and girls. For instance, a 2020 research brief by UN Women shows that among women in Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, women who were in relationships with men who held sexist attitudes and behaviours were more likely to have experienced intimate partner violence. Ultimately, when people hold sexist beliefs of women’s inferiority, they often feel licensed to maintain and exert power over them in often violent ways.
It is, however, important to keep in mind that social inequality and sexism do not only contribute to explicit acts of VAWG – they also contribute to more implicit acts that we see every day and have, sadly, normalised. An explicit act of VAWG would be rape, online stalking, or the use of misogynistic slurs. An implicit act, however, could be as subtle as promoting double-standards (e.g., saying that men are “allowed” to be promiscuous whilst women are not), endorsing catch-22s (e.g., shaming women for wearing revealing clothing, but also shaming them for dressing like “prudes”), and engaging in covert sexual objectification (e.g., dressing a female toddler in “sexy” clothing). Although these implicit instances of VAWG are often viewed as more “mundane,” they are underscored by the same sexism that inspires explicit, extreme acts of VAWG. Thus, to end VAWG we must address both forms equally.
Intersectional Violence: Trans Women and VAWG
In addition to raising awareness on VAWG, November is also Transgender Awareness Month in Canada. Throughout the month, Canadians are invited to help foster understanding and tolerance of gender non-conforming individuals, as well as raise awareness of the specific human rights issues they face.
One such issue is directly related to the UN’s goal for the elimination of VAWG. Trans women – including those trans and gender non-conforming folks who present or identify as feminine – face a particular type of oppression called transmisogyny. As Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS) describes it, “transmisogyny is all about the hatred of the feminine”; it is essentially the overlapping of transphobia and sexism, a dangerous combination that puts trans women at significantly higher risk of violence than both cis-gender women and other GSRD groups. For example, BWSS reports that the majority of anti-GSRD homicides were perpetrated against trans women, due both to their being trans and their being women. In light of such findings, it is crucial that our efforts to end VAWG also include trans women.
What We Can Do
There are many important players in the global fight against VAWG. Some of the most important are government bodies, which this year’s UNiTE campaign has called upon to improve anti-VAWG policies, as well as increase investments in institutions aimed at protecting women and girls.
Another important set of players are women’s organisations, who conduct research on VAWG and provide services to victims, like offering counselling, legal aid, and shelter. The impact of these services is monumental; in fact, the 2021-2022 Human Development Report has shown that countries with a higher presence of women’s organisations demonstrate stronger support for gender equality and have more comprehensive policies against VAWG.
In terms of what we, as citizens, can do for the campaign against VAWG, the options are many. One of the simplest options is to donate to women’s organisations so they can continue improving the lives of women and girls everywhere. There are also countless opportunities to volunteer at women’s shelters and women’s help lines.
But truly one of the best ways to reduce VAWG is to call it out. Although it can sometimes feel uncomfortable to do so (as going against the status quo often does), calling out sexist attitudes and behaviours towards women and girls helps to alter the social norms that give way to various forms of VAWG. And this can have a huge impact on reducing the violence we see around us.
If we want to win the fight against VAWG, everyone must do their part. This November 25th, how will you do yours?
