International Human Rights Day

On December 10 2022, International Human Rights Day will bring to a close the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

Annually, around the world, this period is dedicated to eliminating the ongoing global violation of human rights. Within the ICJW Program Policies on the Status of Women it says: “ICJW condemns all forms of violence against women and children including sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation and trafficking.  ICJW encourages its affiliates to lobby respective governments to address the effects of violence on the health and well – being of women and children.”

Women’s organisations like ICJW are stepping up their advocacy and ongoing support for the world’s women and girls. For more than a century, ICJW affiliate organisations have contributed to physical and emotional support for women, girls and families. Our ICJW teams in global, local and community organisations continue to raise awareness of women’s struggle against injustice and physical abuse.

We are all aware that the recent pandemic years have worsened the situation for women: security and safety have been lessened while violence leading to death has been normalised to an horrific degree. In the last few years movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp have raised global consciousness of the ongoing systematic violence which occurs in everyday life world- over. Unfortunately, worldwide awareness of the situation has not yet enabled a lessening of this scourge.

Here are just two of the many women’s organisations working on spreading awareness of this important UN period:

IWDA (International Women’s Development Agency) states: “To end violence against women we need to challenge the attitudes that perpetuate, rationalise and normalise that violence. Men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of gender-based violence.”

CWGL, the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University campaigns on the theme “Ending Femicide”. They say that calling this murder by its true name is something all women must do, expressing our outrage that many women continue to live in fear for their lives.

Please distribute this information among your friends and within your affiliate organisations, because ICJW has a responsibility to inform and educate our membership on such important issues as eliminating violence against women.

Robyn Lenn OAM,
Chair, ICJW Committee on the Status of Women