International Women's Day - honouring and protecting the mothers of our children and our daughters
5 things you can do on International Women's Day
Today, March 8, is International Women's Day, or IWD, first celebrated in 1909. In recent years, the annual event has gained recognition, giving a chance to celebrate achievements in the women's movement and to inspire further progress through both local and international action.
This
year's IWD comes at a crucial time for women worldwide. As we reflect on the
advances we have made in the past years, we can count the recent
reauthorization of Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA) among them.
Women all over the word suffer from violence and abuse. According
to UN reports, 603 million women still live in countries where domestic
violence is not yet considered a crime, with 70 percent of women globally
reporting having been the victim of violence. It is more frightening still to
see the contingent of youth affected; about half of all sexual assault victims
are under 16.
Statistics
are particularly troubling for Indigenous women, especially Native women living
on US reservations. If you are a Native woman in the US, you are more than
twice as likely to be assaulted. One in three Native women will be raped in her
lifetime and 86 percent of rapes and sexual assaults against Native American
women are committed by non-Native American men.
VAWA extends tribal jurisdiction over non-Native Americans who commit crimes of
domestic violence or sexual assault against a Native American. While we
celebrate this success, we must also look forward to see how else we can spur
positive change.
The women's movement has made much progress since the first IWD in 1909, but there is clearly more progress to be made. On International Women's Day stand in solidarity with women. By acting now, we will have even more to celebrate on March 8, 2014.
- Rally together and march. Today during the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, there is a March For a Life Free of Violence Against Women and Girls near the United Nations building in NYC, calling on lawmakers and representatives to put a stop to measures of impunity that perpetuate violence against women. Learn more.
- Visit the UN Women's Day website. Find out how to get into the conversation via Twitter and other
forms of social media. #IWD #WomensDay
#internationalwomen'sday
- Learn
about Operation Thunderbird. Anonymous launched #OpThunderbird, a new
campaign that is responding to the utter lack of investigation of
widespread murdered, raped and missing Indigenous women in Canada. The
campaign has created a vehicle not only for witnesses, victims and their
families but also for the larger public who have remained largely ignorant
of the situation. Click here.
- Participate in the #Shedocs online film festival. Watch We Still Live Here - Âs Nutayuneân about the indomitable linguist jessie little doe, who spurs the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no native speakers for many generations has been revived in this country. Click here.
- Spread the word. Tell your friends about IWD by sharing the One Woman Song, a collaborative global effort that serves as a statement on International Women's Day of working together to promote gender equality.
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From UN.org
A promise is a promise:
Time for action to end violence against women.
"There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable."
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Worldwide today:
- Up to 50% of sexual assaults are committed against girls under the age of 16.
- Globally, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime.
- Up to 70% of women in the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
- Over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18...
In the face of such unacceptable figures, the international community is strongly committed to change the plight of women.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) requires that countries party to the Convention take all appropriate steps to end violence.
Time for Action
This year's theme for International Women's Day, "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women" seeks to strengthen international community's commitment to put an end to violence against women. As part of the effort the UN leads to fight violence against women, Secretary-Generals Ban Ki-moon's UNiTE campaign calls on all governments, civil society, women's organizations, men, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing this global pandemic.
"ONE WOMAN"
From China to Costa Rica, from Mali to Malaysia acclaimed singers and musicians, women and men, have come together to spread a message of unity and solidarity: We are "One Woman", a song to be launched on 8 March 2013.
What can you do?
Join the conversation and follow @UN_Women and the hashtag #1woman on Twitter. You can also donate a tweet through our Thunderclap, which will be released on 8 March.