Recognised since 1999, after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution, today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
UNFPA: Every day, women and girls are subject to domestic violence, exploitation, sexual violence, trafficking, honour crimes, harmful traditional practices, such as bride burning and early marriages, and other forms of violence against their bodies, minds and human dignity. As many as one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some other way.
In the 16 days leading up to Human Rights Day and every day, let us come together to demand an end to the most pervasive yet least reported human rights abuse in the world. Let us all take a stand and say loud and clear ‘No to violence against women’.
As a skeptically-minded woman, I am aware of how particular superstitions lead to violence, exploitation and how many harmful practices draw upon pseudoscience or endorse paranormal beliefs to the detriment of women in particular.
Some of these I’ve blogged about before: Underwear For Valentine’s Day And Indian Women’s Rights (on the persecution of Indian women by a Hindu radical organisation); This Is All You Got In This Size? (book reviews and reflections on several pro-feminist sites) and even upon my own experience of violence in Silence Is The Enemy – Blogging To Help Shout The Message.
Today is also the first of sixteen days of activism to end violence against women which ends with Human Rights Day.
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Among the reasons that help in the spread of violence against women is the bad education children may receive.http://inspirationwriting.blogspot.com/2009/11/violence-against-women.html
One day hopefully we can set aside every day of every year for violence against women,we need more women in business, government and throughout the community to be able to break through the barriers of male domination and gain the respect they deserve, I feel its about respect so lets all do our bit to change this around today and into the future.
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