International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: November 25

November 25, 2020

Every year, the International Day for Elimination of violence against women is marked by the United Nations on November 25. The day is celebrated to create awareness that women around the world are subjected to domestic violence, rape and other forms of violence. This year the day is celebrated under the theme

Theme: “Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect”

The International Day of Elimination of Violence against women also starts the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based violence”.

16-Days of Activism

It is a campaign that runs every year between November 25 and December 10. December 10 is celebrated as the Human Rights Day. The campaign was first initiated in 1991. More than 6,000 organizations from 187 countries participate in the organization.

The following are the significant dates in the course of the campaign

November 25: International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against women
November 29: International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
December 1: World AIDS Day
December 5: International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
December 10: International Human Rights Day

All these days are marked by the United Nations.

Why was November 25 chosen?

On November 25, 1960 three Mirabal sisters were assassinated upon orders from the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. In 1981, activists from Caribbean Feminist Encuentros and Latin America marked November 25 as day to raise awareness of violence against women.

Violence against women

The United Nations defines violence against women as the act of gender-based violence that results in physical, mental or sexual harm. It also includes threats of arbitrary deprivation of liberty. According to the World Health Organization, one in three women (that is 35% of women) are experiencing physical violence.