16 Days of Activism

THE UN Women website highlights the theme for this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which is “UNiTE! Activism to End Violence against Women and Girls”.

This is an annual campaign that begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through to International Human Rights Day on December 10.

According to the website, the event is led by civil society, and the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary-General’s UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative.

In 2020, it amplified the call for global action to bridge gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that could improve life-saving services for women and girls.

We learn that more than one in three women experience gender-based violence during their lifetime.

In 2021, according to stats, nearly one in five women aged 20-24 were married before turning 18, and less than 40 per cent of women who experience violence seek help of any sort.

Violence against women and girls, we learn, remains the most pervasive human rights violation around the world. Already heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, its prevalence is now being further increased by the intersecting crises of climate change, global conflict and economic instability.

Against this setting, according to the website, a backlash against women’s rights is underway around the world. Anti-feminist movements are on the rise, attacks against women human rights defenders and activists are up, and the legal status of women’s rights is increasingly imperiled in many countries. Regressive new laws are exacerbating impunity for perpetrators of domestic violence, governments are using force against femicide and gender-based violence protestors, and women’s rights organisations are being increasingly marginalised.

However, despite these discouraging trends, it is encouraging to note that there is more proof than ever that violence against women and girls is preventable.

Evidence, we learn, shows that the single most important driver of policy change is a strong and autonomous women’s movement — making feminist mobilisation in the face of anti-rights backlash a literal matter of life and death. In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

These 16 days offer us an opportunity to relook at how we address the issue of violence against women and girls in Fiji.

The Fiji Times joins the campaign every year, to encourage people to be aware of gender-based violence.

Being aware is the first step. Then there is the need to appreciate and understand the impact of violence on the lives of those directly and indirectly impacted. Then there is the need for us all to make an effort to change our mindset. Our challenge is to unite and do this together.

We can make a difference in our lives and for those we love, and at the same time, create a level of awareness that is important for us all.

■ convince the voters. Campaigns have been proven to make the difference depending on how you deliver your message.

Voters these days are knowledgeable so you need to be very mindful of what you are telling them.

Hence, it is advisable that you be truthful and genuine in your promises.

Promises that are achievable and not otherwise.

One political party’s rallies have been seen to be drawing a huge crowd but you can not measure or calculate the outcome simply from that. So far the things are going on smoothly, let’s pray it remains like this until the election is over.

As I keep saying always, stay alert and know what’s happening so that you don’t end up making wrong decisions. We all pray for a successful general election. Thank you.

SURESH CHAND

Nadi