Human Rights Articles

By Karen Castellon, FAUSA, AWC Berlin, AW Aquitane, Marelie Manders, Heidelberg IWC, and Mary Adams, AWC The Hague

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence was launched in 1991 by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA.  At the time of publication of this article in October 2023, the Center is no longer in operation. Therefore, we turn to the United Nations under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres to support UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative (UNiTE).

To kick off this campaign, we share the song, One Woman, co-created by AAWE member, Beth Blatt. Share this with your club, your friends. It is wonderful!

The 2023 theme of the UNiTE campaign is “Invest to Prevent Violence Against Women & Girls” and focuses on financing prevention strategies to stop violence before it occurs. This aligns closely with the theme for CSW68, the 2024 Commission on the Status of Women, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.” (Clearly there are no marketing professionals on staff at these governmental organizations.)

So how was November 25 chosen as the first of the 16 Days?

Women's rights activists lobbied the United Nations to commemorate November 25 as a day against gender-based violence. On this date in 1960, three of the Mirabal sisters were murdered in the Dominican Republic by order of dictator Rafael Trujillo. The story of these brave women is captured in the historical novel, In the Time of the Butterflies (Julia Alvarez, 1994), subject of a FAWCO book discussion in February 2023.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1993 with a declaration on the elimination of violence against women. On February 7, 2000, the UN voted to officially designate November 25 as the International day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As such, the UN welcomes the partnership of governments and civil society such as international organizations and non-governmental organizations to support this issue and raise public awareness every year on this date.

The FAWCO Human Rights Team is pleased to share this in-depth array of resources to mark the 16 Days as an individual or with your club.  You could choose an activity each day or just mark the first and last days or any combination that works for you. Tell a friend and take action in some way. Download a PDF of the calendar to share with other members of your club. 

16 Days of Activism Toolkit

Nov 25 – Orange the world and listen more

November 25 is a designated orange day by the UNiTE to End Violence against Women Campaign. The color orange was chosen* to symbolize a brighter future, free of violence. Orange serves as the color of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. You can simply change your background to orange, or do a search on “Orange the World.” (Note: the toolkit for Orange the World has an error on its link. We are in touch with UN Women to fix this. 10/25/23).

As you kick off the 16 Days, take a listen to the beautiful anthem for UN Women, “One Woman”, co-written by FAWCO member Beth Blatt (AAWE Paris). The production involved the collaboration of 25 singers and musicians from around the world. Listen and be moved.

* Chosen by the United Nations. We acknowledge that this color has other connotations depending on locale.

Nov 26 – Learn more: SDG 5

Find out more about SDG 5 - Gender Equality by reading some interesting blog posts from Just Security and UN Women.

Nov 27 – Speak out: Share the nomore.org directory

Use your social media to raise awareness about the NoMore Global Directory, a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive international directory of domestic violence and sexual assault resources in every UN-recognized country and territory in the world. Watch a video of Melissa Morbeck of the NoMore Foundation discussing the importance of this directory at the FAWCO Human Rights in Focus conference.

Nov 28 – Learn more: Read a book

Why not read a book that will make you think differently about gender and gender equality? On page 44 of the Safe and Equal 16 Days toolkit you can find a list of book suggestions You could also access the New York Public Library’s suggested reading list.

Nov 29 – Do more: Women’s Shelter Donation

Many FAWCO clubs currently/historically have supported women’s shelters. Let us know about the impact you are making! In addition, the Pixel Project has some ideas about things that would be useful to donate to Women’s Shelters.

Nov 30 – Do more: Talk about the signs of an unhealthy relationship

Talk to women in your life, particularly young women, about recognizing unhealthy signs and shifting to healthy behaviors. Help women around you understand that it is important to not ignore these signs, as they can escalate to abuse. Learn to spot the signs of abuse and how to start a conversation on page 46 of the Safe and Equal Toolkit.

Dec 1 – Mark the day: World Aids Day

Learn some facts and figures about AIDS worldwide and get informed about women and HIV.

Dec 2 – Do more: Raise your gender-based violence IQ

Head to the Global Citizen site to learn more about gender-based violence and test what you’ve learned with the quiz.
And why not join one of the FAWCO Global Issues Teams?

Dec 3 – Mark the day: International Day of People with Disabilities

Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals and women with disabilities.

Dec 4 – Do More: Use a toolkit to support women

There are powerful resources available on-line to make it easier for you to find your voice using pre-defined and pre-developed tools.

• Plan Your Power toolkit for women's rights advocacy planning
• Take a Stand toolkit
• Safe and Equal 16 Days toolkit
• Free illustration toolkit for your 16 Days of Activisim campaign against gender-based violence
• Create change by downloading the Global Citizen app or use the #16Days: Stop Gender-Based Violence challenge toolkit. It contains a series of challenges with some women's rights activists, so that each day you'll have a simple task, such as signing a petition, watching a video, listening to a podcast, etc.

Dec 5 – Do more: Together Women Rise

Together Women Rise promotes gender equality through small communities of women. Beth Hollimon highlighted the organization when she was a featured guest speaker at the FAWCO Human Rights in Focus virtual gathering in November 2021. Watch her talk, “Advocacy: How to create real change for women and girls” (31 min). She encourages outreach to your political representatives and most importantly, getting to know the staff in their offices.

Dec 6 – Speak more: Engage in conversations about consent

Make sure the men, especially young men, in your life understand: Freely given, enthusiastic consent is mandatory, every time. Review online resources for having this conversation.

Dec 7 – Learn more: Digital safety for women online

The digital dimension of gender-based violence has a serious impact on the lives of women and girls, including their safety, their physical and psychological health, livelihoods, family ties, dignity and reputation. Learn more here. 

Dec 8 – Speak more: Ask more of the men in your life

Talk to the men in your life about violence against women and the fact that this cannot be solved by women’s actions alone. They must become allies for speaking up against violence in all forms. HeForShe is an organization that offers resources on allyship.

Spread the word: In Dr. Daniela Ligiero’s blog for the UN Foundation, she outlines ways in which we can help stop sexual violence, including by teaching young children about consent and helping enlist men in the movement. She also notes how we all can work to create societies where someone who has experienced sexual violence feels empowered to come forward, knowing they will be believed, protected, and not blamed.

Dec 9 – Learn more: Curate your social media to be better informed

Follow accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. that help keep you informed on this important issue. Organizations such as UN Women, Togetherforgirls.org and the Global Violence Prevention Network have active social media accounts that will keep you informed on issues and events impacting women around the world.

Dec 10 - Pick your favorite Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article! #standup4humanrights

Join FAWCO on December 10 to wrap up the 16 Days campaign by posting on social media using the tags #standup4humanrights and #FAWCO with your favorite articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• Optional: Read aloud the Declaration with other club members in the languages of your choice.
• Create a pictorial/visual of your favorite article - drawing, picture of you and your family, a collage of pictures, children's drawings, etc. Download a visual representation of the articles.
• Present these artworks at the FAWCO Interim Conference in March 2024.
• Use the hashtag #standup4humanrights and #FAWCO and share on social media.

Don't forget other video resources available from the Human Rights in Focus conference in November 2021. Or check out these specific clips from the event:

• American Victims of Gender-Based Violence
• Targeting Demand in Human Trafficking
• Significance of Strangulation in GBV
• Realities of Child Marriage in the US
• Advocacy: How to create change for women & girls