Starting Saturday — which is also the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — United Nations agencies, humanitarian organizations and civil society groups will work to raise awareness and promote the prevention and end of GBV around the world.
In 2008, then-U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the UNITE to End Violence Against Women initiative, coinciding with the 16-day campaign.
This year's theme is "UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls."
In order to tackle the pervasive global issue, the U.N. is calling for "a comprehensive robust response that invests in prevention through strengthened legislation, improved services."
Prevention, it says, is key to ending GBV while "working with schools, communities," encouraging "media and religious/traditional leaders to promote positive social norms" and championing "awareness and behavior change campaigns, engaging men and boys."
More than 4 in 5 women around the world live in countries that lack comprehensive legal protections against violence.
The U.N. says an estimated 736 million women worldwide — nearly 1 in 3 — have faced physical or sexual abuse, or both, at least once in their lifetime.
The perpetrators of GBV are most often the victim's husband or intimate partner, according to the U.N. Around 245 million women and girls 15 years of age and older experience this type of violence.
Less than 40% of women who experience violence report it.
The main exacerbating factors that threaten efforts to end GBV include economic crises, conflicts, climate change and technologies that facilitate digital violence, the U.N. says.
This report was compiled by Leah Seyoum.
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