Yesterday, December 10 marked the end of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV). The anti-GBV campaign takes place annually between November 25 and December 10 and is coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. Activists’ world-wide use this period strategically to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence.
Started by activists at the inaugural Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991, the campaign has been active between two significant dates, November 25 – the International Day against Violence against Women, and December 10 – International Human Rights Day.
The 16-day period also highlights other noteworthy dates namely, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, November 29 and World AIDS Day – December 1.
The dates for the campaign were specifically chosen to link violence against women and human rights and to emphasize that gender-based violence against women is a violation of human rights.
This year’s campaign ran under the theme “Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape”.
While the 16 days have ended, it is important to remember that the fight against GBV is a daily endeavour, which should not be left to fade once the orange outfits donned during the 16 days have long since been packed away.
Active awareness that focuses on understanding the following issues will help in creating movements with staying power.
The root cause of gender-based violence
According to United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Zimbabwe, about one in three women aged between 15 to 49 years have experienced physical violence and about one in four women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
GBV is rooted in a multifarious set of patriarchal beliefs, power, and control that continue to create a social and cultural environment in which violence against women is prevalent and normalized. The normalization of GBV often starts from the formative years of a boy or girl child and continues through to adulthood.
Zimbabwean gender activist, Nixon Nembaware had this to say, “The culture of violence stems from the cultural definition of a man as the one in control, the one with power, the one who leads and even the breadwinner. When they fail to fit into these predetermined templates they seek alternative forms of expressing power and violence is the immediate suggestion from their societies that they can employ to subjugate their supposed ‘subjects’.
“I call that ‘struggling to be a man’, where you struggle to fit into the set template. Sadly, some of the strong guardians of that culture are women. They are pressured to raise their children that way. They tell the boy “be a man”, they pressure their daughters-in-law to be “submissive” and the aunts help their brother’s daughters to accept abusive behaviour from their husbands and justify it through beliefs such as “that’s how men are, and you have to endure”.
Prevention
The most effective way to end violence against women and girls is to prevent it from happening in the first place by addressing its root and structural causes.
From a young age, both young boys and girls need to be educated on the importance of respectful relationships. This should be done across the various institutions responsible for education, from homes, churches, schools, clubs, and universities. Also continued awareness-raising and community mobilization, through media and social media, will assist as another important component of effective GBV prevention.
My brother’s keeper – organizations in the fight against abuse
The fight against GBV is not an overnight feat. It requires a community-based, multipronged approach, and continuous engagement with multiple stakeholders. As aptly stated by former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Kofi Anan who said, “Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation, and it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.”
The majority of victims of GBV are female and most perpetrators are male therefore the focus on ending gender-based violence should be on educating and organizing men in a call to action to be a part of the solution. The equal participation of men will ensure the creation of Anti-GBV movements with staying power.
The following is a list of some organizations that can assist men in the fight against gender-based violence.
Organizations Against GBV for Men
Padare/Enkudleni 0772606196 www.padare.org.zw
Men as Partners Mutare 0772960642
Chisungo Men’s Network 0777892557
Fathers against Abuse 0772848661
Similarly, safe spaces for women include:
Organizations Against GBV for Women
Musasa Project 0772666 593
Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association www.zwla.co.zw
Women Action Group www.wag.org.zw +263 242 308738
Anti-Domestic Violence Council www.advcouncil.org.zw
. The anti-GBV campaign takes place annually between November 25 and December 10 and is coordinated by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. Activists’ world-wide use this period strategically to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence....Read More){kind=link}