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

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

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by IDWFED published Nov 20, 2019 04:30 PM
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year, we in particular think of all those women who have been injured and even sacrificed their lives amid police and military violence during protests for freedom and democracy in various parts of the world – from Hong Kong and Chile to Bolivia and Lebanon.

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GLOBAL -

A Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – what is it?

This date was selected to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country’s ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).

On 7 February 2000, the General Assembly officially designated 25 November as the International day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to raise public awareness of the issue every year on that date.

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

One in three women and girls, irrespective of their economic status, experience violence in their lifetime.  In a year of reckoning over sexual harassment in the workplace amid the #MeToo scandals, domestic workers -- a group mostly comprised of women working in private quarters, under the immense discretion of their employers -- remain vulnerable.

Our work in private households makes us invisible and vulnerable to physical, emotional, and even sexual violence.  They are committed by employers who can be men or women, direct members of the employing household and their relatives, as well as by recruitment/employment agency intermediaries. 

The victorious adoption of the ILO Convention 190 on Ending Violence and Harassment in the World of Work at the International Labour Conference in June this year is going to change our lives and those of many women.  The Convention states that governments shall adopt legislation ensuring the right to equality and non-discrimination in employment and occupation for all.  Employers are required to take measures to prevent violence and harassment. 

We together with all our affiliates will pressure our governments to ratify the C190.  We will educate members and all domestic workers about what violence and harassment in the world of work is and raise awareness of C190 and its importance.  Above all, we will unite all domestic workers to achieve the goal – stop all acts of GBV for a safe working environment.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this year, we in particular think of all those women who have been injured and even sacrificed their lives amid police and military violence during protests for freedom and democracy in various parts of the world – from Hong Kong and Chile to Bolivia and Lebanon.  We are outraged at the high incidences of women and young girls being raped and murdered in South Africa this year.  Their courage and suffering remind us that the world is unsafe for women and girls.  Violence against women occurs every day at an unacceptable scale. 

Let us unite for a change.

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

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