The global movement against gender violence is gathering momentum every year as more and more people worldwide join their voices to say “NO” to violence against women by participating in a wide range of activities within the framework of “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence” Campaign, which starts on November 25th and ends December 10th. 

The roots of 16 Days Campaign date back to the 20th century and are based on two historical events. The first took place in Dominican Republic on November 25th, 1960, when the state cruelly executed three Mirabal sisters who were political activists and became symbols of resistance to Trujillo’s regime. The second happened in Canada on December 6th, 1989, when 14 female students were shot by Mark Lepine at the University of Montreal’s Faculty of engineering, the assassin who believed that he had not been accepted in the Faculty due to the number of female students. These brutal acts triggered the creation of two end-violence global campaigns: 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence and the White Ribbon Campaign – a unique initiative by Canadian men.  Later, in 1999, the UN officially recognized November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which marks the start of 16 Days Campaign lasting till December 10th, International Human Rights Day.

Today, the Campaign covers the following dates:

  • November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women;
  • December 1 –   World AIDS Day;
  • December 2 – International Day for Abolition of Slavery;
  • December 6 – Anniversary of Montreal Massacre, and
  • December 10 – International Human Rights Day.

Since 1991 well over 2000 organizations in more than 160 countries have participated in the annual global campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence” that calls for the elimination of all forms of violence against women. In 2000 the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence was introduced in the Caucasus.

Following the successful activities undertaken within the period of 2000-2009, UNFPA CGBV project (www.genderbasedviolence.am) initiated 2010 year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign to raise once again the issue of gender-based violence and involve even greater number of participants including state structures, mass media, civil society, international community, and general public.

With respect to this, UNFPA Armenia invites all interested organizations working in the field of gender, women’s rights, human rights, GBV and DV issues to participate in the campaign and join their efforts in this year’s 16 Day Campaign.

Please, refer to the below provided information to get a general idea of this year’s Campaign directions and initially envisaged activities.

This year the 16 Days Campaign in Armenian will aim at:

  • Raising awareness and knowledge of the Armenian population about gender violence in all its forms by changing attitudes about violence against women; 
  • Strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations to effectively advocate for and implement violence prevention programs;  
  • Encouraging the Mass Media to promote national awareness of the issue and ways to end gender based violence; 
  • Facilitating collaboration among women’s, human rights and health organizations as well as professionals dealing with violence against women;  and 
  • Providing the public and civil society with opportunity to join efforts in combating gender based violence.

Main types of activities envisaged within this year’s campaign will be:

  • Press Conferences and/ or special events to highlight the dates of 16 Days Campaign;  
  • Round Table discussions (NGOs. Media, Gov.); 
  • Training and information seminars on gender violence issues; 
  • Film screenings and discussions; 
  • TV and radio programs; 
  • Free legal, psychological and medical consultations for victims of gender violence; 
  • Special events (exhibitions, lectures, presentations); 
  • Concluding event, etc.

If you are planning to organize events related to the above mentioned topics, or if you have interesting and creative ideas regarding events, which could fit well into the agenda of the 16 Day Campaign, please, contact UNFPA CGBV project (Ref. to Ms. Jina Sargizova, UNFPA CGBV Project Coordinator) either by calling +374 10 51 20 38 or send your E-mail to sargizova@unfpa.org.