16 Days of activism against gender based violence
Edith Mecha
Violence against women is deeply rooted in gender-based discrimination, social norms that accept violence, and gender stereotypes that continue cycles of violence. Many efforts to address this vice have mostly concentrated on response efforts and paid less attention to primary prevention which is the key to eliminating violence against women and girls completely. This type of prevention effort requires innovative efforts to address the root causes of violence against women, such as gender inequality, adverse childhood experiences, as well as factors that foster abuse or tolerance of abuse, such as alcohol use and societal violence.
This will involve dismantling the hierarchical construction of masculinity and femininity predicted on the control of women, and eliminating the structural factors that support inequalities are likely to make a significant contribution to preventing violence against women. However, this is a long term process that will require the participation of everyone in society and other immediate measures like the engagement of males as agents of change and putting in place proper legislation.
On this Friday, December 4th the 10th day of #16daysofactivism against Gender-Based Violence, we will moderate a Twitter Chat on “Preventing, Responding and Eliminating Violence Against Women” starting from 3:00 pm EAT and 1:00 pm GMT. Join us in this engaging conversation under the hashtags #NoMoreGBV #16DaysofActivism2020.
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