The 16 Days against Gender-Based Violence event launched around the world on Monday. The campaign takes place annually between November 25^th [International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women also commemorating the lives of the Mirabal sisters] and December 10^th [International Human Rights Day and the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights]. The 16 Days campaign is also an organizing and mobilizing strategy calling for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence by persons and groups throughout the world.

The Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University [New Jersey, U.S.] began the 16 Days movement in 1991. It has now grown to include over 2,000 organizations in more than 154 countries worldwide.

Violence against women across the world has been frighteningly normalized. In Africa, women and girls can be subjected to a variety of violations including domestic abuse, rape, female genital mutilation, sexual assault, human trafficking and inimical widowhood rites. Violence against women can occur in all aspects of women’s lives and will encompass abuse of women’s civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights. AWDF, as part of its grant-making commitment, gives support to women’s groups and organizations to collectively raise awareness about the work of African women to transform their realities into peaceful and sustainable futures.

*Check out this short film by South African photographer and visual activist, Zanele Muholi, supported by Human Rights Watch for #16Days2013

AWDF has participated in the event since 2003. In that year, we began awarding grants annually as part of our Special Projects Initiative to support the 16 Days campaign. The objective of these grants are to enable African women’s organizations working to eliminate violence against women to better coordinate activities to commemorate the 16 Days event. In addition, the grants awarded strengthen an international, Pan-African women’s network on violence against women to develop into an effective mechanism for social transformation and to create opportunities for this network to join their voices to a critical global campaign.

The 2013 theme for the 16 Days campaign is “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence against Women.” According to the main organizers, the 2013 campaign “advocates for awareness and action on the multi-faceted intersections of gender-based violence and militarism, while highlighting the connection between the struggle for economic and social rights and ending gender-based violence.”

A three-pronged focus for action underlines the campaign by highlighting the intersections of economic and social rights with militarism and gender-based violence: 1] violence perpetrated by state actors 2] domestic violence and the role of small arms and 3] sexual violence during and after conflict. The campaign encourages worldwide participants to focus on the areas most relevant to their particular context.

For more resources on #16Days and to see how you or your organization can get involved, click here for the 2013 Take Action Kit (TAK). #16Days is also alive and thriving online. Join the campaign by sharing key information and engaging with your social networks on different strategies to eliminate gender-based violence.