The 25th of every month has been proclaimed by the United Nations Secretary General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign as ‘Orange Day.’ This is a day set aside to raise awareness and to take action to end violence against women and girls across the world.
‘Orange Day’ calls upon activists, governments and UN partners to mobilize people and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women but every month.
The theme for this month’s ‘Orange Day’ campaign is ‘prevent.’ Advocacy efforts will, therefore, focus on strategies to prevent violence against women and girls.
As we observe ‘Orange Day,’ on 25 May, in line with the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, let us spare a moment to think about women and girls who have suffered from all forms of violence in Liberia. Take a moment further to think about how we can prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls in Liberia.
Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations. Let us intensify our efforts to end violence and enhance our commitment as governments, civil society, community members and individuals.
In Liberia, cases of violence against women and girls increased alarmingly in the last year mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite efforts by the various stakeholders to combat it. According to the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection 2020 report, 2,240 cases of sexual or gender-based violence were reported, of which rape accounted for 80 per cent of the cases. The high number of cases prompted the President of Liberia, Dr George Manneh Weah to declare rape a national emergency in line with the Government of Liberia and Partners’ Anti-SGBV Roadmap (2020 – 2022).
Sexual and gender-based violence is one form of violence against women and girls and eliminating it is pivotal to achieving gender equality, women’s empowerment, and sustainable development goals. Other forms of violence include domestic violence, physical and emotional or psychological violence.
To support the efforts of the Government of Liberia in addressing violence against women and girls, UN Women is raising awareness by sharing information on its social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter.
“We encourage everyone to join us to share the information so that we unite to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in Liberia,” says Marie Goreth Nizigama, UN Women Liberia Country Representative. “We call upon everyone to intensify efforts to end a culture of violence against women and girls and make Generation Equality Action Coalition on gender-based violence their responsibility.”
Generation Equality Action Coalitions are poised to deliver concrete results on gender equality to advance the Sustainable Development Agenda.
UN Women is the UN entity for gender equality and women’s empowerment.