International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2020: Theme, History, and Significance of the day

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is celebrated every year on November 25 to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are dependent upon domestic violence and different types of violent conduct; besides, one of the aims of the day is to feature that the scale and real nature of the issue are often hidden.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is a global advocacy effort pointed toward preventing and eliminating the instances of violence in all forms that women are exposed to around the globe. The activity of the United Nations General Assembly, the Day is seen on November 25 every year.

Significance of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

As per the UN, violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread, steady, and devastating human rights violations in our present world. Cases of such violence to a great extent go unreported and stay hidden as a result of the stigma or shame surrounding it. The campaign means to spread awareness about the issue.

International Day For The Elimination of Violence Against Women 2020 expects incredible significance in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the phenomenal lockdown, nations over the world have revealed expanded instances of domestic violence. Women’s associations and rights bodies are pushing governments to take measures to ensure young girls and women caught in the cycle of violence. International Day For The Elimination of Violence Against Women is a United Nations assigned day noticed annually on November 25.

The World Health Organization appraises that around one in every three women in the world has suffered physical or sexual violence. These are very often committed by an intimate partner. This year the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown it has constrained the world over has additionally strengthened the dangers of violence towards women. The instances of domestic violence, particularly, have expanded altogether. The UN has named it the “shadow pandemic growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis.”

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2020 Theme

The theme for International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2020 is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!” The attention is on bridging the funding gaps to guarantee fundamental services for the survivors of violence during the progressing pandemic.

Like every year, a 16-day campaign will be launched on the event beginning November 25 and will close on December 10, which is seen as the International Human Rights Day. A few events will be coordinated by different local and international bodies to raise awareness about the need to prevent violence and to help the survivors. A few buildings and landmarks will be ‘oranged’ on this day to sharpen individuals towards the requirement for a violence-free future.

WHO is leading a webinar on November 26 which will be gone to by agents from different nations who will discuss “Innovations in addressing violence against women in the context of COVID-19”. The delegates will share creative approaches to offer help to the survivors of violence during the pandemic.

In a major push, this year the UN has given a clarion call for finishing gender-based violence. The 2020 campaign theme is ‘FUND, RESPOND, PREVENT, COLLECT’. Like every year, the ’16 Days of Activism’ against Gender-Based Violence (GVB) campaign begins today and closures on December 10. The UN Women is working intimately with violence survivors, activists, all the stakeholders, and people from every walk of life to fund, reach-out, and respond faster.

History of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

On November 25, 1960, three sisters, Patria Mercedes Mirabal, María Argentina Minerva Mirabal, and Antonia María Teresa Mirabal, were killed in the Dominican Republic on the orders of the Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabel sisters contended energetically to end Trujillo’s dictatorship. Activists on women’s rights have noticed a day against violence on the anniversary of the deaths of these three women since 1981.

On December 17, 1999, November 25 was assigned as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women by the UN General Assembly.

This is an effort to prevent and end violence against women at the global, regional, and national levels that show that there is a far-reaching exemption on sexual violence and rape. The color orange in the theme represents a superior future without the pervasive human rights violation that influences 1 out of 3 women and girls everywhere on the globe.

The date of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women additionally denotes the beginning of the “16 Days of Activism” that goes before Human Rights Day on December 10 every year.