UNITE against gender violence

UN Women is launching a new initiative - Orange Day, starting on the twenty-fifth of each month, from July onwards until November 25, when people should wear orange and take action against gender violence. This is the first action arising from the Global Youth Network to end violence against women and girls.

The UN campaign UniTE to End Violence against Women in May this year launched the UniTE Global Youth Network (*). Its first action was to launch Orange Day on the twenty-fifth of each month from July to November, observed as an International Day to End Violence against Women, a day for action. As a sign of adherence, the Network is asking everyone to wear something orange on these days. "As more of us start wearing the color orange on 25th of every month, we will generate interest and spark conversations about the issue. Ultimately, we want people to start thinking and talking about how to end violence against women and girls". (**)

Activists around the world can also upload some of the following messages onto their Twitter or Facebook accounts:

Twitter:

We are proclaiming every 25th of the month as #orangeday - wear orange to say NO to #violenceagainstwomen & girls! via @SayNO_UNiTE

Want to take a stand to make ending #violenceagainstwomen & girls a priority worldwide?Wear orange on the 25th! #orangeday via @SayNO_UNiTE

Wondering what to wear? Wear orange on Wed.25 July & say NO to #violenceagainstwomen & girls! #orangeday via @SayNO_UNiTE

Wed.25 July is #orangeday ! Get ur orange shirt out of the closet &take a stand on ending #violenceagainstwomen & girls! via @SayNO_UNiTE

Let's make this ribbon the global symbol on ending #violenceagainstwomen & girls! #orangeday via @SayNO_UNiTE [note: attach picture with ribbon to tweet]

Facebook:

Wondering what to wear? Wear orange on Wednesday, 25 July & say NO to violence against women & girls!

We are proclaiming every 25th of the month as Orange Day! Wear orange to take a stand on ending violence against women & girls, and encourage all your friends to do the same!

Let's make this ribbon the global symbol on ending violence against women & girls! Put it on your Facebook page and share it with your friends. And don't forget: the 25th of each month is Orange Day. Wear orange & say NO to violence against women & girls! [note: attach picture with ribbon to post]

Let's claim 25 July as the first of many days of action to say NO to violence against women and girls.

The statistics are shocking - between 15 to 75% of women in every community suffer from some sort of violence. Up to 70% of these violent acts are perpetrated by intimate partners. Two women are murdered every day in Guatemala, on average; in India, there are many thousands of dowry-related deaths every year; in so-called developed nations such as the USA, Canada and Israel, 40 to 70% of women were murdered by intimate partners; on a worldwide basis, 50% of sexual assaults are committed against children under 16; up to 150 million women and girls suffer some kind of violence yearly; 30% of first sexual experiences are rapes or attempted rapes.

Three million girls a year in Africa are submitted to

female genital mutilation; 100 to 140 million women and girls live with the scars of this practice; 60 million children a year are forced to make commitments in marriage ceremonies; 80% of human trafficking is committed against women and girls; 79% of these, or 632,000 women and girls a year, are trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation. 379,200 women and girls are subjected to conditions of sexual slavery every year.

In parts of Europe, between 40 and 50% of women are subjected to unwanted sexual advances; in Asia, up to half the women suffer sexual harassment at work.

(*)

http://saynotoviolence.org/around-world/news/unite-global-youth-forum?utm_source=Say+NO+%E2%80%93+UNiTE+to+End+Violence+against+Women&utm_campaign=3ffbe59d82-Invitation_to_online_discussion&utm_medium=email

(**) UN Women

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

Pravda.Ru

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