The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

November 25 – December 10

November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It marks the first day of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, and December 10 – International Human Rights Day – is the final day.  This 16 days of activism is recognized internationally.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was designated in 1999 by the United Nations General Assembly. The date was chosen to commemorate the lives of the Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic who were violently assassinated in 1960. The day pays tribute to them, as well as urging global recognition of gender violence. Each year on this day, governments, international organizations and NGOs are invited to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the problem.

Gender-based violence affects us all. It destroys families, weakens the fabric of our society, and takes a heavy toll on our communities and our economy. Canadians are reminded during the 16 Days of Activism that they can take actions, now and throughout the year, to eliminate violence against women and girls in all its forms.

National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women

December 6

December 6 is the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women in Canada. Established in 1991 by the Parliament of Canada, this day marks the anniversary of the murders in 1989 of 14 young women at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal. They died because they were women.

As well as commemorating the 14 young women whose lives ended in an act of gender-based violence that shocked the nation, December 6 represents an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the phenomenon of violence against women in our society. It is also an opportunity to consider the women and girls for whom violence is a daily reality, and to remember those who have died as a result of gender-based violence. And finally, it is a day on which communities can consider concrete actions to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.

Poster

To assist you in organizing an activity to mark this special day, Status of Women Canada (SWC) has developed the following poster:

Poster

* In order to open, view, navigate and print PDF files, it is necessary to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system. If you do not have this software, it is downloadable free of charge. Click here to download Adobe Acrobat Reader, and follow the instructions to install it.

Facts

Violence against women and girls affects us all. It destroys lives and weakens the fabric of our society. As a population, it takes a heavy toll on our communities and our economy.

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women defines violence against women as "any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life."

The most common forms are:

• physical violence, ranging from slapping and hitting to assault and murder
• emotional or psychological violence involving systematic undermining of an individual's self-confidence, intimidation and verbal abuse
• sexual violence, which encompasses all non-consensual or coerced sexual activity including incest and rape
• financial violence, involving partial or total loss of control of one's finances
• neglect, involving deliberate denial of human rights and the necessities of life.

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS: The Numbers

• Women and girls are more likely than men to experience violence and assault in intimate and family relationships.
• According to the 2009 General Social Survey, women report experiencing more serious forms of spousal violence and are more likely to incur injuries than men.
• According to the 2009/2010 Transition Home Survey, between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010, admissions of women to Canada's shelters for abused women exceeded 64,000. Since 1998, annual shelter admissions for women have been relatively stable. ¹
• Young women experience the highest rates of family violence.

Aboriginal Women ²

• Aboriginal women are almost three times more likely than non-Aboriginal women to report being the victim of a violent crime, including spousal violence.
• In 2009, close to two-thirds of Aboriginal female victims were aged 15 to 34. This age group accounted for just under half of the total female Aboriginal population over age 15 living in the 10 provinces.
• Among victims of spousal violence, six in 10 Aboriginal women reported being injured in the five years preceding the survey; the proportion was four in 10 among non-Aboriginal women.
• Over three-quarters of non-spousal incidents of violence against Aboriginal women are not reported to police.

Dating Violence ³

• In 2008, eight out of 10 victims of police-reported dating violence were female. This difference narrows with age, however: whereas female victims aged 15 to 19 outnumbered male victims by nearly 10 to one, the numbers for female and male victims aged 55 and over were nearly equal.
• Incidents involving female victims were more likely to result in police charges than those involving male victims, particularly among those aged 15 to 19.
• Approximately 10% of male victims and 1% of female victims of dating violence were involved in same-sex relationships.
• In 2009, the self-reported sexual assault victimization rate for females was twice that of men. Of sexual assaults reported in the General Social Survey, 70% involved female victims. ⁴

Senior Women ⁵

• Although senior men experience a higher rate of violent victimization than senior women, family-related violent victimization is higher among senior women.
• Senior women tend to be victimized by a spouse or grown child; senior men tend to be victimized by an acquaintance or a stranger.
• Among victims of family-related homicide, senior women were most likely to be killed by their spouse (41%) or son (36%), while the majority of senior men were killed by their son (72%).

---