Ahead of the launch of 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence worldwide, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres accentuates calls to tackle this scourge that claims the lives of young girls and women.

Activities marking 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence taking place every year from November 25, the day of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women that runs till December 10, the date marking Human Rights day are underway.

In order to mark these crucial periods dedicated to advocacy calls, a series of activities hold worldwide.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres delivered a message ahead of the 16-day-long activities.

UN Secretary-General’s, Antonio Guterres message 2022

Violence against women and girls is the most pervasive human rights violation in the world.

Every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member — and we know that other stresses, from the COVID-19 pandemic to economic turmoil, inevitably lead to even more physical and verbal abuse.

Women and girls also face rampant online violence, from misogynistic hate speech to sexual harassment, image abuse, and grooming by predators.

This discrimination, violence, and abuse targeting half of humanity come at a steep cost. It limits women’s and girls’ participation in all walks of life, denies their basic rights and freedoms, and blocks the equal economic recovery and sustainable growth our world needs.

Now is the time for transformative action that ends violence against women and girls.

This means governments designing, funding, and implementing national action plans to tackle this scourge.

It means involving grassroots and civil society groups at every stage of decision-making.

It means ensuring that laws are implemented and respected, so survivors see their rights to justice and support upheld.

It means supporting public campaigns that challenge patriarchal norms and promote different forms of masculinities that reject misogyny and violence.

And as this year’s theme — “UNITE: Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls” — reminds us, it means standing with activists around the world who are calling for change and supporting survivors of violence. I call on governments to increase funding by 50 percent to women’s rights organizations and movements by 2026.

Let’s take a stand and raise our voices in support of women’s rights.

Let’s proudly declare: We are all feminists.

Let’s consign violence against women and girls to the history books.

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