16-day campaign calls for end to gender-based violence

AMMAN — Under the theme “Safe families.. prosperous Jordan”, the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), along with national partners, launched its annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

In addition to the JNCW, the campaign was also launched in coordination with National Team of Family Protection (NTFP), which includes 32 governmental and non-governmental organisations and the JNCW Network Against Violence Against “Shama’a”. The launch was supported by UN agencies, Plan International and the European Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP).

“The campaign this year aims to address preventive means to minimise the effect of gender-based violence, which could result in murders,” JNCW Secretary General Maha Ali said during a press conference on Saturday at JNCW headquarters.

16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that was started by the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute and sponsored by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. 

“The launch of the campaign is considered the actual beginning of the movement to face gender-based violence and to focus on certain issues to eliminate violence against women and empower them,” Ali added.

This, Ali maintained, “does not mean that the JNCW will not address other important issues such as economic, social and social violence against women and any other discriminatory topics that women might suffer from”.

Also addressing the press conference was the NTFP deputy director Ibrahim Aqel, who stressed the importance of adopting a unified approach among all institutes providing services to gender-based violence survivors.

Meanwhile, UNFPA in Jordan Representative Ensherah Ahmad praised the Kingdom’s serious commitment to combating gender-based violence by prioritising the issue and strengthening response mechanisms.

Also during the press conference, campaign organisers said that the campaign will include a total of 550 activities in various parts of the country, including awareness activities, lectures, short films, advertisements and media interviews.

International activists chose the dates November 25 — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women,  and December 10 — International Human Rights Day — to symbolically link violence against women and human rights, emphasising that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29, World AIDS Day on December 1 and the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6. 

In a statement from UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, she called for a “push forward — act now to end violence against women and girls”.

Bahous said several movements and activism brought a new urgency and increased visibility to the extent of violence against women and girls.

In addition, millions of survivors came forward to share their experiences, forcing the world to “recognise a reality that shames every one of us,” according to Bahous.

“Their courage and voice led to a powerful collective activism and a sea-change in awareness,” Bahous added.

The UN official said that there is a need to invest urgently in strong, autonomous women’s rights organisations to achieve effective solutions.

Bahous also called upon governments and partners across the world to increase long-term funding and support to women’s rights organisations.