International News & Campaigns

Find out about some of the many international campaigns that SERICC supports:

World AIDS Day - 1 December

World AIDS Day on 1 December brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world.

Between 2011-2015, World AIDS Days will have the theme of "Getting to zero: zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths". The World AIDS Campaign focus on "Zero AIDS related deaths" signifies a push towards greater access to treatment for all; a call for governments to act now.

For more information, visit: positivelyuk.org

Human Rights Day - 10 December

All States and interested organisations were invited by the UN General Assembly in 1950 to observe 10 December as Human Rights Day.

The Day marks the anniversary of the Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Find out more from the UN Human Rights Day website and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website.

Major economies - best and worst places to be a woman

Policies that promote gender equality, safeguards against violence and exploitation and access to healthcare make one country the best place to be a woman among the world's biggest economies; infanticide, child marriage and slavery make another the worst. A TrustLaw global poll of experts ranks the world's major economies in terms of how good they are for women.

To read the full list, with pros and cons for each country, visit the TrustLaw website:
www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/special-coverage/g20women

UN Women Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence Against Women & Girls

The UN Women Global Virtual Knowledge Centre to End Violence against Women and Girls is an online resource in English, French and Spanish, designed to serve the needs of policymakers, programme implementers and other practitioners dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls. The Centre is an initiative of UN Women, bringing together the valuable contributions of expert organizations and individuals, governments, United Nations sister agencies, and a wide range of relevant actors. Part of the overall effort is encouraging shared ownership of the site and ongoing partnership-building for its continuous development and sustainability.

The primary purpose of the Global Virtual Knowledge Centre is to encourage and support evidence-based programming to more efficiently and effectively design, implement, monitor and evaluate initiatives to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls. To achieve this, the Global Virtual Knowledge Centre offers a 'one stop' service to users by making available the leading tools and evidence on what works to address violence against women and girls. It draws on expert recommendations, policy and programme evaluations and assessments, and fundamentally, on practitioners' experiences from around the world.

The site offers users:

• step-by-step guidance on 'how to' work with specific sectors, groups or areas of intervention
• proven and promising approaches
• recommended training and other practical tools for implementation
• a roster of specialised organisations, by country and languages
• summaries of evaluations and key findings
• links to key sources of data and other online resources
• an emerging observatory of leading initiatives; and
• a calendar of major events and training opportunities.

For more information, visit: www.endvawnow.org

The Council of Europe has launched a new campaign focusing on child sexual abuse

ONE in FIVE children are victims of sexual violence. Sexual violence can take many forms, including sexual abuse within the family circle, child prostitution, 'paedopornography', corruption of children and solicitation of children through internet.

Combating sexual violence against children through specific legal instruments and comprehensive awareness-raising actions is one of the strategic objectives of the programme Building a Europe for and with Children of the Council of Europe.

The main goals of the campaign are to:

• promote the signature, ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention) - conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=201&CL=ENG
• equip children, their families/carers and societies at large with knowledge and tools to prevent and report sexual violence against children, thereby raising public awareness of how widespread sexual violence against children is.

For more information, visit: www.coe.int/t/dg3/children/1in5/OurCampaign/objectives_en.asp

ManUp - stop violence against women

Man Up is an international campaign to activate youth in a movement to stop violence against women and girls.

Their call to action challenges the next generation to "man up" - whether they are male or female - and declare that violence against women and girls must end. Harnessing the universal power of music, sport and technology, Man Up provides innovative training, resources and support to young leaders and the human rights organisations that collaborate with them.

Man Up has chosen the World Cup 2010 as the venue to launch the Man Up Campaign. On the occasion of the World Cup, an event that inspires, excites, unites, and mobilises people around the globe, Man Up will bring young leaders from around the world to inspire, excite, unite and mobilise the world to end violence against women.

For more information, visit: www.manupcampaign.org

SafeVibe.com

Don't Let Predators Ruin It For Everyone

SafeVibe is a movement for everyone who wants to keep predators out of the bars and put an end to sexual assault. The more people who actively get involved (men, women, youth, everyone!), the closer we will be to making social change a reality.

For more information, visit: www.safeVibe.com

United Nations launches special web site for the 30th anniversary of CEDAW

The 18th December 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). A working group* of the United Nations' Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) has come together to plan a number of activities in 2009 to celebrate this important anniversary, including a special anniversary website, which they invite you to visit: www.unifem.org/cedaw30.

The website contains:

• Examples of CEDAW's successful implementation from around the world, which serve to illustrate how national partners and the global community can work together to ensure gender equality is a reality for all women and girls.
• A calendar of regional and country level events being organized by the UN and its partners to celebrate the Convention's 30th anniversary.
• Information on the global anniversary celebration at UN headquarters in New York on 3rd December, 2009.
• Electronically available publications and resources on CEDAW.
• Background information on the Convention and its Optional Protocol.
• A link to Inter Press Service's special CEDAW website, which features articles on CEDAW's implementation and interviews with CEDAW experts from around the world.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

Each year since 1991, tens of thousands of activists from every region of the world have taken part in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign. The campaign's central messages - women's rights are human rights and violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights - have been a rallying call of the women's movement. Recognizing that violence against women affects people from every country, race, class, culture, and religion, the 16 Days Campaign provides an opportunity for activists to work together in solidarity and draw upon this period of heightened international attention to gain support for their local efforts.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) during 2008's 16 Days Campaign, millions of people pledged their support for ending violence against women (VAW) and upholding human rights. Building upon this momentum, the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) dedicated the 2009 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign to honoring groups and individuals who have committed to bringing VAW to the forefront of global attention, to encouraging everyone in their various capacities to take action to end VAW, and to demanding accountability for all of the promises made to eliminate VAW. Therefore, the 2009 theme was:

Commit · Act · Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women!

Check out the website!

If you would like more information about the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign, please visit the official website www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html. Pictures from the 2008 16 Days Campaign can be viewed on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/18578511@N04/. Are you on Facebook? Become a fan of "The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign" fan page.

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership.

Words to Action Newsletter

The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women produces an electronic newsletter on violence against women, called 'Words to Action'.

To download the latest edition, please visit: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/vaw
Please note: the newsletter is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.

Violence Against Women Database

On 5 March 2009, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro launched the Secretary-General's database on violence against women, hailing the database as the first global ‘one stop shop' for information on measures undertaken by Member States to address violence against women.

This publicly accessible and searchable database, developed in response to General Assembly resolution 61/143, provides information on all aspects of Member States' work to address violence against women, including:

• Legal frameworks;
• Policies, strategies and programmes;
• Institutional mechanisms;
• Preventive measures and training;
• Research and statistical data; and
• Other measures undertaken, such as engagement in international/regional initiatives, and the creation of specialized police, prosecutors, and courts.

The database will encourage exchange on initiatives and ideas, and the transfer of promising practices. It will facilitate learning and show how progress is being made. The database will also help understand what remains to be done. The database is available online at: www.un.org/esa/vawdatabase

The database entry for the United Kingdom can be viewed at:
webapps01.un.org/vawdatabase/countryInd.action?countryId=1368

For more information on the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women, visit: www.un.org/womenwatch/daw

WE CAN end all violence against women

The six-year, six-country, South Asian Campaign to End All Violence against Women - or the 'We Can' campaign - aims to deal with violence women endure daily, both within their homes and in the larger society in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It recognises violence against women is rooted in gender inequality and that whether in homes or outside, it reflects the power structures in society which relegate the status of women to be only after that of men. Its starting point is, thus, to deal with conditions that systematically deny women their lives, health, rights, choices, and power in the family.

Launched in 2004 and being taken forward by over 1,810 organisations in the six countries, 'We Can' has raised large scale public awareness on bias, inequality, and violence against women, particularly domestic violence, and is a trigger for a new consciousness, attitudinal change and enhancement of rights.

It is allowing millions of ordinary men and women find their own solutions to violence in their homes and lives, and find ways to reject it.

We can end all violence against women

For more info, please visit: www.wecanendvaw.org

One In Three Women

A global campaign raising awareness about violence against women

One in Three© is a digital enterprise linking and building intercultural dialogue and relationships with anti-violence global activists/advocates, serving as an informational clearinghouse and raising awareness about violence against women.

Visit the One in Three© web site at: oneinthreewomen.com

Say NO to Violence against Women

Say NO to Violence against Women: www.unifem.org

UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies to foster women's empowerment and gender equality. For more information, visit: www.unifem.org/about/brochure.php

Dignity! Period.

Women are being forced to insert newspapers and rags as the basic essentials of sanitary products are now too expensive for the ordinary Zimbabwean woman. ACTion for South Africa (ACTSA) has announced a new and exciting development in the Dignity! Period. campaign by entering into an important partnership with Bodyform, the feminine hygiene manufacturers. Bodyform has joined forces with the ACTSA campaign, to ensure that the women in Zimbabwe are afforded their most basic human rights. Your help is needed to make a small but significant difference to the lives of the Zimbabwean women. For more information, please visit:
www.actsa.org/page-1022-Dignity! Period..html

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)

Sexual violence (www.svri.org/violence.htm) is a violation of human rights and a serious public health problem. It has a profound impact on physical and mental health, both immediately and many years after the assault. To date, sexual violence has received insufficient attention from researchers, policy-makers and programme designers and it has been a long struggle to have it recognised as a legitimate public health issue.

The SVRI is an important contribution to eliminating sexual violence by simultaneously addressing the lack of research on the different aspects of sexual violence as well as drawing attention of a wide range of people including policy makers and the media, to this important public health issue.

We are building an experienced and committed network of researchers, policy makers, activists and donors who would ensure that the many dimension of sexual violence are addressed from the perspective different disciplines and with a multi-cultural outlook.

Sexual Violence Research Initiative flyer (PDF 315kB)
Please note: this report is a PDF file, requiring Adobe Acrobat Reader or Access Adobe.

For more information, visit: www.svri.org