International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

Recognized 25th November

By resolution 54/134 of 17 December 1999, the General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Women's activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
On 20 December 1993 the General Assembly adopted Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (A/RES/48/104).

” Message from .....

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for the
Elimination of VIolence against Women
25 November 2010

“My UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, and the Network of Men Leaders I launched last year, have generated welcome momentum and engagement. The word is spreading: violence against women and girls has no place in any society, and impunity for perpetrators must no longer be tolerated. On this International Day, I urge all – Governments, civil society, the corporate sector, individuals – to take responsibility for eradicating violence against women and girls.

In light of the increased series of attacks against lesbian and bisexual women in the past coupled with increases in sexual abuse and rape against young girls and women in general plus the disturbing cases of missing children in Jamaica mostly girls, the ongoing and troubling path radio personality Ragashanti has taken towards lesbian life supposedly to be joke and entertainement for his listeners this day's recognition could not come at a more opportune time. The concerns especially among young women in Jamaica of all stripes and orientations are growing as crimes and violence against them seemingly go unabated.

TODAY AS WE COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE (IDEVAW) AGAINST WOMEN UNDER THE THEME “COMMIT, ACT, DEMAND: WOMEN AND MEN UNITE TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. LET US FIRST REMEMBER THAT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS REMAINS A MAJOR CHALLENGE AND IS RECOGNIZED LOCALLY, REGIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY AS A GRAVE SOCIAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERN. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN NEEDS OUR URGENT ATTENTION AS IT AFFECTS ALL MEMBERS OF OUR SOCIETY, RICH AND POOR, WOMEN AND MEN, BOYS AND GIRLS. Click HERE to view full Message

WHY WOMEN ACROSS THE WORLD COMMEMORATE NOVEMBER 25th ASINTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Between the years 1940 to 1961, the Dominican Republic was subjected to a political regime under the leadership of President Trujillo that was as cruel as it was corrupt. During this period, a group calling itself the 14th June Resistance movement was formed, which was led by the militant Mirabel sisters, Minerva, Patricia and Maria Teresa. This organization was accused of plotting to overthrow the Trujillo regime, and as a result, the husbands of the three women, as well as Patricia's son, were arrested.

The three sisters were eventually ambushed, tortured and raped. They were then placed in their jeep and pushed over a cliff in an unsuccessful attempt to make the murders appear accidental. This incident took place on November 25th, 1960. When women from Latin America and the Caribbean met in Bogota in 1981, they proposed that a day be set apart each year that would be recognized as an international protest against violence against women.

Minerva, Patricia and Maria Teresa Mirabel had never been forgotten; and so November 25th was chosen as the day when the world would be asked to remember them, and the countless other women and girls all over the world who have died as a result of violence.

Click HERE to view as a pdf

Peace and tolerance

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