25th November

The United Nations General Assembly has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

The premise of the day is to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence; furthermore, one of the aims of the day is to highlight that the scale and true nature of the issue is often hidden.

Historically, the date is based on the date of the 1960 assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic; the killings were ordered by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961)

In 1981, November 25 was marked as a day to combat and raise awareness of violenceagainst women more broadly. On December 17, 1999, the date received its official United Nations (UN) resolution.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (abbreviated as DEVAW) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 1993. It is the recognition of "the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of all human beings".

Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls. Such violence is often considered a form of hate crime, committed against women or girls specifically because they are female, and can take many forms.

The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states, "violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women" and "violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men."

The date of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women also marks the start of the "16 Days of Activism" that precedes Human Rights Day on December 10 each year.

RED SHOES, WHY?

RED SHOESOn the 20th of August, 2009, Mexican architect and artist, Elina Chauvet, made an installation in memory of hundreds if not thousands of young women who disappeared, were tortured and then were killed in Juárez during 1990s and 2000s.

RED SHOES An installation replicated over 80 times since its first creation in 2009. Sometimes Red Shoes aims to commemorate the women of Juarez and at other times it is about denouncing general violence against women.

The original 2009 installation consisted of 33 pairs of donated red female shoes that were placed along Juarez Avenue, the main street connecting Mexico to the US. The second time was in 2012, in Sinaloa, where this time Chauvet collected 300 pairs of donated shoes. Many installations followed and are still taking place around the world.

The term ‘Femicide’ was coined in Juárez making it an iconic city and raising awareness all over the world about gender-driven violence, a situation that continues even today.

The day is also known as Orange Day because the colour orange is recognised across the world as that chosen by The United Nations Gender Equality Body, UN Women, to symbolise a future without violence against women.

As a bright and optimistic color, orange represents hope and a future free from violence against women and girls.To mark the day, UN Women promotes the #OrangetheWorld awareness campaign

In 2006 Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, declared:Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her.

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