November 25: The International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Today the world is standing with survivors against gender-based violence.
It also marks the start of the 16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence under the theme: Women And Girls Mental Health and Wellbeing.
This campaign runs until December 10, which is Human Rights Day.
This day is commemorated in 1981 in memory of the three Mirabal Sisters. They were political activists from the Dominican Republic. The three were brutally murdered in 1960 on the orders of the then president Rafael Trujillo.
Gender-Based Violence over the years is the most common and tolerated crime in society despite it being recognized by the United Nations as a grave crime against humanity.
It manifests in so many different forms that it passes unnoticed. The most predominant form is verbal and emotional violence which most people tend to view as a passing storm.
According to the UNHCR report, more than 1 in 3 women experienced gender-based violence in their lifetime.
1 in 5 forcibly displaced women experience sexual violence while 1 in 5 women and girls have experienced violence by an intimate partner in the last 12 months.
Less than 40% of women who experience violence seek any kind of help.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a rise in GBV cases, however with is also affected by climate change, global conflict and economic instability.
In the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict they have been a rise significantly in these cases owing to the fact that the overall security is compromised and standard living conditions for the affected.
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In this year’s campaign, however, the focus is not solely on the women and girlchild.
There is also the “Count the Men” campaign, which is geared towards recognizing that the boychild is also affected by this kind of violence.
In our headlines, we have encountered cases of men being on the receiving end of the brute. Theirs for quite some time has been dubbed the silent crisis.
With this year’s campaign that is to change.
There has been sensitization around the country and the world and platforms have been created for all genders to speak out and seek help against the vice.
Such platforms include the various helplines and the Kilifi rescue centre which has been in existence since 2016.
In solidarity, CS of Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action Aisha Jumwa attended celebrations held at Kilifi Water Front and she tweeted in recognition of the direction the journey is headed.#OrangeTheWorld
Earlier in the week, she had come down fiercely on the GBV perpetrators in an address in Kilifi, she vowed to fight them.
Read Also:https://news.switchtv.ke/2022/11/boy-child-neglected-in-the-cold-streets-for-gbv/
