Remember Remember 25th of November
Find out why this date is so important to Women's Campaigners around the world
Since 1999, the 25th November has been formally recognised by the UN as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As you will read, this date has become important for many reasons, but it was selected to represent this important cause to commemorate the deaths of the Mirabal sisters - three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country's ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961), for opposing his regime. Their assassinations rocked the country and soon the sisters became 'symbols of both popular and feminist resistance'.[1]
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), amongst many other organisations, have been pushing for the international recognition of this day for some time, some campaigning since 1981. A year before the formal recognition of the date, Noeleen Heyzer, then Executive Director of UNIFEM, was at a fundraising breakfast in Toronto Canada giving a speech to encourage young men and women to participate in 16 days of activism against gender violence. To begin on the 25th of November, this voluntary effort was to run until 10th December, Human Rights Day. It’s become an annual international campaign titled ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ that continues to this day.
To support this civil society initiative the UN launched its UNiTE campaign in 2008, which aims to ‘End Violence against Women’ by 2030. Managed by UN Women, the campaign runs parallel to the 16 Days of Activism campaign, calling on governments and organisations 'to address the global pandemic of violence against women and girls'[2]
And it doesn't stop there! 25th November marks another important event in the Womens campaign calendar- it's also White Ribbon Day, run by the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC). The WRC all began in 1991, founded by a group of pro-feminist men in Ontario, Canada who felt that they had to raise awareness and work towards prevention of violence against women. This was following the 1989 École Polytechnique Massacre, in which a man killed 14 women at an engineering school. The White Ribbon Campaign and Day spread through Canada, with hundreds of thousands joining in the first year alone to oppose violence against women. The event then spread beyond Canada, becoming international, and the UK branch of the White Ribbon Campaign was founded in 2004 and has continued to grow ever since. Boys and men who participate in the White Ribbon Campaign, which is active in more than 60 countries across the globe, are encouraged to wear white ribbons to show their support.
Here at aneemo we wholeheartedly support all these important events and campaigns and want to help in raising awareness of prevention of violence against women. We work with organisations who support women with complex needs, most of whom will have experienced violence at some stage in their lives and this will have led them to need the support and shelter that these organisations provide.
We assist these organisations by delivering unique, video-based training devised by clinical psychologists who are experts in their fields. This allows those working with women with complex needs to better understand how to support and empower them in their everyday lives.
Want to know more?
Check out our Safeguarding Adults and Working with Women with Complex Needs courses to learn more
Or for more information on advice, staff training or support aneemo can offer please contact us
Further Sources of Support
The following links and resources may be helpful if you or someone you know are suffering from abuse, and you'd like further support and advice:
Samaritans
24/7 helpline for a safe place to talk any time
Tel: 116 123
Refuge
24/7 Helpline
0808 2000 247
www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
Women's Aid
Live Chat service (7 days a week, 8am - 6pm Mon-Fri, 10am - 6pm Sat & Sun))
www.womensaid.org.uk/
GOV.UK
Domestic Abuse: how to get help
www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
[1]www.nytimes.com/1997/02/15/world/the-three-sisters-avenged-a-dominican-drama.html
[2]www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/unite
#16Days #UnitedNations #WhiteRibbonDay #SafeguardingAdults #Stafftraining #aneemo
