UN chief calls for collective action to end violence against women, girls

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a collective global action to end violence against women and girls by helping achieve gender equality and full empowerment of woen.

“Violence against women is fundamentally about power,” he said in a message marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which is annually observed on Nov. 25.
The Day spotlights the work of women’s rights activists, who are being targeted at ‘alarming levels’, and violence against women politicians, which hamper women’s rights.
“It is time to further our collective action to end violence against women and girls for good,” the secretary-general said, highlighting that around the world, more than 1 in 3 women in their lives have experienced physical violence.
“It is time for united action from all of us, so that women and girls around the world can live free from harassment, harmful practices, and all other forms of violence,” Guterres said.
He said the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against women, one of the ways that the UN is helping the international community fight this scourge, is a grant system that has given away more than $129 million to groups and individuals supporting women’s rights.
The UN, Guterres said, is also involved in the recently launched ‘Spotlight Initiative’ with the European Union to connect UN efforts with the work of national governments and civil society; and the UN Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Initiative.
Among other efforts, he said, the UN launched a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and has said that it is committed to continuing the ‘UNiTE to End Violence against Women’ Campaign, under the new title ‘UNiTE by 2030’.
The UNiTE Campaign will mark this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November through 10 December, under the theme Leave No One Behind: Ending Violence against Women and Girls.

Source: APP