25 November is the day dedicated to the fight against violence against women.
Intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women are two of the largest public health problems in the world, as well as a violation of human rights.
- 35% of women worldwide have, during their lifetime, suffered violence from a spouse or partner, or sexual violence from another man. According to unofficial data, up to 70% of women worldwide have at some point in their lives suffered violence.
- On average, 30% of women who have been in a long-term relationship have suffered some form of physical or sexual violence at the hands of their partner.
- In 38% of murders of women worldwide, the murderer was the spouse. (Data provided by the World Health Organization in October 2013, http://www.who.int) And these statistics are only the tip of the iceberg, because most women remain silent for various reasons.
It should be added that some women are never even born, because in countries such as India, China and other patriarchal lands the birth of a girl is regarded as a burden on the family, as a result of which abortions are performed or girls are killed immediately after birth.
Violence against women is a gender-based violent act that results in, or may result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to a woman, including such acts as threats, coercion or the arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life (Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, UN General Assembly resolution No. 48 of 20 December 1993).
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The day for the elimination of violence against women has been marked since 1981, and the date in question was chosen to honour the Mirabal sisters, who were killed on 25 November 1960 for resisting the regime of the dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. 25 November also marks the beginning of the International 16 Days Campaign against gender-based violence, which ends on 10 December on International Human Rights Day. The UN has recognized that it is precisely violence directed against women that seriously impedes women’s opportunities to exercise their rights and freedoms on an equal footing with men, while the prejudices and customs prevailing in society justify gender-based violence as a form of control over women.
In the preamble to Recommendation No. Rec(2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, “The protection of women against violence”, violence against women is regarded as an adversary of equality and peace and as the greatest obstacle to security and democracy in Europe.
Materials used:
Centre “Marta” www.marta.lv in Rīga, Matīsa iela 49-3
On 27 November, the centre “Marta” resumes the activity of a support group for women who have suffered violence and for women whose children have suffered violence.
Aļesja Lavrinoviča