On November 25 of this year, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women will be celebrated, in part to denounce the violence that is exercised against a part of the world population for reasons of sex and to ask governments to implement policies to eliminate gender violence ( VDG ).
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in cases of violence against women and girls, among other things, as a result of confinement with those who are often their aggressors and because unemployment has increased (especially in the women).
According to Sisma Mujer, in Colombia “during the quarantine, approximately every 25 hours a femicide was reported, every 10 minutes a complaint of domestic violence was made and every 21 minutes a complaint for sexual crimes” (Sisma Mujer, 2020). According to the Colombian Women’s Observatory, between January and October 15, 2020, 17,132 calls for domestic violence were received – 118% more than in the same period last year – (Colombian Women’s Observatory, 2020). Calls for domestic violence represent 75.88% of the calls received on Line 155.
That is why this year, the United Nations launched the “Paint the world orange: Finance, Respond, Foresee and Collect!” Campaign . This campaign seeks to prioritize funding services and organizations that prevent GBV in the time of COVID-19; to launch campaigns to promote social change and seek that governments declare zero tolerance to GBV; to seek that services (including but not limited to legal advice and shelters) for survivors of GBV are applied and considered essential during the pandemic; and to collect information and data to improve services and programs against the VDG (United Nations Secretary-General, 2020).
UN Women recommends the following activities so that we can all participate in the “16 days of activism against gender violence”:
- Build alliances that bring together stakeholders from different sectors (public figures, private sector, and tertiary sector) and that work to eliminate GBV.
- Donate to the UN Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women.
- Work with survivors of the DVG.
- Symbolic campaigns:
- Wear clothes and paint physical spaces orange, even change the color of logos and brands on social networks.
- Post messages for 16 days with the topic “Paint the world orange: Finance, Respond, Forecast and Collect!”.
- Create opportunities for virtual dialogue (forums, webinars, etc.).
- Publish stories of activists and survivors (with prior authorization and sensitivity to their cases).
- Publish in media and social networks how you and / or your organization is working and supporting activists.
- Make sure women and girls in your community know where to seek help and services for GBV.
- Ask the government to increase funding for organizations and for victims’ shelters.
- Post orange victim information posters near cash registers, office access doors, elevators, and all places frequented by women.
Remember that GBV is something more common than we imagine, and that someone you know is probably being affected. You too, as an individual and an organization, can raise awareness and empower victims.
By Ángela María Jurado Echeverri , Coordinator of the Gómez-Pinzón Abogados Seed Plan.
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I. Works cited
Colombian Observatory of Women. (October 19, 2020). Colombian Observatory of Women. Obtained from Bulletin No. 30: http://www.observatoriomujeres.gov.co/archivos/publicaciones/Publicacion_68.pdf
Sisma Woman. (April 23, 2020). SISMA WOMAN. Obtained from Bulletin # 20, Behavior of violence against women in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia: https://www.sismamujer.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Boleti%CC% 81n-Sisma-Mujer-COVID-19-y-DH-de-las-mujeres-en-Colombia.pdf
United Nations Secretary-General. (2020). UN Women. Retrieved from United Nations Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women: https://www.unwomen.org/-/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/what%20we%20do/evaw/unite%20campaign_2020_concept%20note_final .pdf? la = en & amp; vs = 5951
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