With The 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence – otherwise known as The White Ribbon campaign – just around the corner, activities and events will be taking place all around the UK to highlight violence against women and girls.
But what do we actually know about the beginnings of The 16 Days of Action? In this article we take a look at its history and why its message is more important today than ever.
- The 16 Days of Action was launched in 1991 in the USA, spearheaded by The Women’s Global Leadership Institute and held by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University
- Since then the campaign has run every year, from 25 November – the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women – until 10 December, which is Human Rights Day
- Since 1991, more than 6000 organisations from approximately 187 countries have participated in the campaign
- Every year, the campaign has a particular theme; for 2021 this is ‘Orange the world, end violence against women now’.
Our Chief Executive Sue Coleman said: “The 16 Days of Action is about gendered violence; it’s about women and girls. In the wake of Sarah Everard’s horrendous death and her killer receiving a sentence he deserves, it has never been more important to stand up and be counted as an organisation that will not accept violence against women and girls. A concerted and consistent focus on violence against women and girls is as important now as it has ever been.”
To find out more follow us on Twitter at @WMWomensAid and like us on Facebook at @WestMerciaWomensAid.