UNITE to end violence against women and girls

TODAY, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW), marks the launch of the UNiTE campaign (Nov 25-Dec 10), and 16 days of activism concluding on Human Rights Day, December 10.

This campaign to end violence against women is expected to draw attention to its alarming escalation, to revitalise commitments from policymakers, and call for accountability and action from decision-makers.

What is considered violence against women?
Violence against women and girls remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it, explains the United Nations.

It can manifest in physical, sexual and psychological forms, encompassing:

•Intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide);

• Sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, street harassment, stalking, cyber harassment);

•Human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation);

•Female genital mutilation; and child marriage.

Look out today, IDEVAW, for the silent march organised by Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, from the Police Officers’ Club to the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre, staged to end violence against women.