The International
16 Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women
25 November - 10 December, 2007
Read about the 16 Day Campaign in Afghanistan »
Violence against women is the most pervasive problem, however, the yet least recognized human rights abuse in the world. In Nigeria the most common forms of violence against women include rape, wife battery, sexual harassment, trafficking, female genital mutilation, forced and child marriage, acid attack, denial of inheritance rights and harmful widowhood rites. Some of these forms of violence have resulted in HIV infection among women, which have lead to stigmatization, expulsion from their families and dismissal from their workplace etc.
It is in view of this, that the United Nation Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) is raising attention to this critical human right abuse, through the annual 16 Days Campaign Against gender based violence beginning from 25 November to 10 December.
The theme for this year's campaign is
Demanding Implementation, Challenging Obstacles:
End Violence Against Women
The UN Trust Fund in support of actions to eliminate violence against women was established by General Assembly Resolution 50/166 in 1996 with UNIFEM as the Fund's Administrator. That resolution positioned the Trust Fund as a key mechanism with respect to the advance action to address violence against women as set out in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
In its renewed focus areas the UN Trust Fund is responding to this by:
- Supporting the effective implementation of national laws, policies and plans of action on ending violence against women, as well as;
- Supporting initiative approaches that address the interlinking between HIV/AIDS and violence against women
For example, in Nigeria the grantees of the funds include Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre (CIRDDOC). The WARDC project was an 18 months initiative, started in 2004, which successfully addressed the issue of violence suffered by women in conflict zones located in Ife and Plateau states in Nigeria. The WACOL project is still running and aims to ensure full practice of existing policies and laws in Anambra, Bayelsa and Edo States, where gender specific laws exist, but are not, implemented effectively. Several outcomes are already visible, for instance a great number of police stations have now established special units to handle cases of violence, a significant raised awareness concerning violence against women in rural communities etc.
The Trust Fund is advertised annually and non-governmental, governmental organizations and partnerships between them, which have a strong record of working with these two focus areas, are highly encourage to apply for grants through the UN Trust Fund. Contribution from Government, donors and the private sector to the Fund is also very welcomed.
In continuation of the annual 16 Days campaign, UNIFEM with Nicole Kidman as Goodwill Ambassador urges individuals and organizations to participate in the global internet-based advocacy campaign "say NO to violence against women" by adding their names to a "virtual" book. The campaign is designed to demonstrate the growing movement among people who raise their voices and demand that ending violence against women become a top priority. The internet-based campaign will be launched on 26 November 2007 to 8 March 2008 on the following webpage: http://www.unifem.org/campaigns/vaw/ 
UNIFEM