Standing up and speaking out
Violence against women. Violence against girls. The #MeToo movement has put a spotlight on a fraction of the violence women and girls face in their daily lives. But zoom out and wider statistics are equally horrifying:
- 1 in 3 women are beaten by a partner or sexually abused in their lifetime. One. In. Three. And, if you talk to a dozen 24-year-old women who have been in relationships, statistically 3 of them probably will have experienced intimate partner violence already in their lives.
- Before Covid-19, 60 million girls were being sexually assaulted at, or on their way to, school every year. And violence, exploitation and abuse in homes and communities are key factors preventing many girls from having the chance to attend school
- On average, 12 million girls marry under the age of 18 every year. While this number has been declining over the past decade, Covid-19, climate change and conflict are reversing this progress. An additional 10 million girls are likely to marry over the next decade due to Covid-19-related disruptions alone.
Statistics don’t tell the whole story. The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – and the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence it kicks off – is an opportunity to take a deeper look at the causes and manifestations of this gender-based violence. And to ask what more each of us can do to prevent it and to support those who experience it.