Burundi women, overcoming violence post war. © Brian David Melnyk / CARE.16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence - 16 stories to inform, inspire and motivate
What are the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence?
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign, set up in 1991. The 16 Days begin on November 25th – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – and end on December 10 – International Human Rights Day. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre of students of Women’s Studies.
The 16 Days Campaign has been used as an organising strategy by individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women.
Over 3,400 organisations in approximately 164 countries have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 1991.
What is gender-based violence?
Gender-based violence is an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed (gender) differences between females and males. Gender-based violence affects one in three women worldwide and is one of the most widespread abuses of human rights globally.
The nature and extent of specific types of GBV vary across cultures, countries and regions. Examples include sexual violence, including sexual exploitation/abuse and forced prostitution; domestic violence; trafficking; forced/early marriage; harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation; honour killings; and widow inheritance.
25 November (day one) A survivor's story - Haiti
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we start the 16 Days of Activism with a story from a rape survivor in Haiti.
26 November (day two) Men championing women's rights - Uganda
The story of a family man from Uganda, for whom taking part in CARE projects has illuminated the issue of women's rights.
27 November (day three) Life after war - Burundi
The story of Elizabeth, a veteran from the CNDD-FDD rebel group whose life has been transformed thanks to CARE's projects.
28 November (day four) Video: Trafficking - The Balkans
Watch our video which focusses on the work of CARE in the Balkans to strengthen the rights of Roma people and combat trafficking of girls.
29 November (day five) A Woman is not helpless – Afghanistan
After the death of her father, Maria and her siblings moved in to their uncle’s home. Learn more about Maria's story and how CARE has helped.
30 November (day six) I have stepped forward - Bangladesh
Sheikh has rebuilt her life after rape, stigma and lack of support from her husband led her into sex work.
1 December (day seven) Child marriage increases risk of HIV - Zambia
On World AIDS Day the story of Brenda who after refusing to marry at the age of sixteen, was forced in to a marriage she never wanted and raped repeatedly by her 29 year old husband.
2 December (day eight) Standing up for women's rights - Nepal
Pushpa’s husband paid six men to beat her and rape her because, in his eyes, she had failed him by giving birth to a third baby girl.
3 December (day nine) Beaten not broken - Zambia
It is considered normal for women to be beaten by their husbands in Zambia, but a refuge jointly run by CARE is offering women a place to go and trying to change that.
4 December (day ten) Now I have the right - Georgia
Lela was only 15 when she got married. She was abducted by her future husband, but she loved him, and therefore she does not describe it as an act of violence.
5 December (day eleven) Female Genital Mutilation - Kenya
CARE’s Assistant Gender Officer in Kenya, Fardosa Muse, describes her efforts to discover more about the practice of Female Genital Mutilation.
6 December (day twelve) Chaupadi: pushing women into isolation
Shobha Shobha Kalel is 22 years old. She, like most Hindu women in her part of western Nepal, was forced to stay in a shed during the first five days of her menstrual cycle.
7 December (day thirteen) Video: Political violence against women - Kenya
CARE works with women who were affected by the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 and 2008, supporting them to document, report and recover from the violence they experienced. Watch the video to learn more.
8 December (day fourteen) Sold by her grandmother - Bosnia
Mara Radovanovic is a 63-year-old Bosnian woman who fights against the trafficking of women in the Balkans.
9 December (day fifteen) Child marriage - Ethiopia
Ten year old Tume married her 22 year old husband as a replacement for her sister.
10 December (day sixteen) Speaking for peace and against violence – Burundi
Today is Human Rights Day - watch our film to find out more about Peace Clubs that are committed to building peace and unity in post conflict Burundi.
