International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2020

25 November

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is a global advocacy effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women. The day is marked every year on 25 November.

Violence against women continues to occur globally. The World health Organisation (WHO) estimates that nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide has experienced physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner or sexual violence by a non-partner.

The COVID-19 pandemic has further contributed to increasing the risks of violence, particularly domestic violence against women. Before the pandemic, 243 million women and girls, aged 15-49 years experienced sexual and /or physical violence by an intimate partner in the past year. Since the occurrence of COVID pandemic, all types of violence against women have intensified.

Health Impact: Women exposed to intimate partner violence are;

Mental Health:

• Twice as likely to experience depression and alcohol use disorders

Sexual and Reproductive Health:

• 16% more likely to suffer a miscarriage and 41% more likely to have a pre-term birth and
• 1.5 times more likely to suffer sexually transmitted infections

Death and Injury:

• 42% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner have experienced injuries as a result
• 38% of all murders of women globally were reported as being committed by their intimate partners

Everyone has a role to play; more efforts are needed to address violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. The promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-to leave no one behind can only be fulfilled with putting an end to violence against women and girls.

The WHO and partners are raising awareness about the global need to prevent and respond to violence against women, and provide support to survivors , during the 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence from 25 November to 10 December 2020.

References-

https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2020/11/26/default-calendar/innovations-in-addressing-violence-against-women-in-the-context-of-covid-19

https://www.un.org/en/observances/ending-violence-against-women-day

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/11/compilation-take-action-to-help-end-violence-against-women

https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/participants-handouts.pdf?ua=1

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women