International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25) is being observed this year with the theme “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. Today, the iconic buildings and landmarks will be ‘oranged’ to recall the need for a violence-free future, informs the United Nations.
The United Nations has decided that observance will mark the launch of 16 days of activism that will conclude on 10 December 2020, which is International Human Rights Day.
Concern has been shown that during the outbreak of COVID-19, all types of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, has intensified. Calling it
the 'Shadow Pandemic' growing amidst the COVID-19 crisis, a global collective effort to stop it has been urged.
"As COVID-19 cases continue to strain health services, essential services, such as domestic violence shelters and helplines, have reached capacity. More needs to be done to prioritize addressing violence against women in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts," stated the UN.
It has been reported that the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls, would focus on amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls.
Here is a statement of the UN Chief:
Gender equality and women’s rights are essential to getting through this pandemic together, to recovering faster, and to building a better future for everyone. ~ António Guterres
The inset clipping is from ex-student and facebook friend Bobby Lakra who marked the observance with social media post this morning.
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