International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women: Message by Karima El Korri

Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

But violence against women happens every day. Women and girls around the world face fear, intimidation, threats of violence, verbal and physical abuse every day.  

This is not Ok!

This year’s global theme is “Orange the world: End violence against women now!”, because tomorrow may be too late.

Before the pandemic, 1 in 3 women worldwide were reported to have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime.

The impact of the pandemic has been profound, accentuating domestic violence and threatening already weak structures of reporting, protection and support.

Incidents of domestic violence increased by 30, 50 percent in some countries.

School closures have contributed to a rise in child marriage.

Pleas for help by women and girls drowned helplines, where they existed, as survivors found themselves confined with their abusers. 

In Malaysia, from March 2020 to August this year, women’s rights organizations have received up to four times more calls reporting domestic violence.  

And we know that these alarming figures hide many more unreported cases.

This is not Ok!

Today, we call for stronger and firmer action to eliminate violence against women.

We need innovative means to address the root causes, discriminatory laws, and biased social norms and practices that sanction violence against women.

We need a whole-of society approach to ensure that it is not OK: civil society organizations, religious leaders, schools, men and women in communities across the country, young people, workplaces, families, and the media to stand up together to end violence against women.

We need renewed commitments by the government at national and subnational levels.

During these 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, I urge you to do your part.

Do engage with family, with friends, in social media. Write and talk about this pandemic. Build the momentum for policy makers and law enforcement agencies to ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere.

The United Nations in Malaysia, with the United Nations Population Fund in the leadership role, is organizing two forums and a social media campaign around the core principle of Bodily Autonomy.

The first forum, the Road to Justice, will be broadcast live on November 27th, and will focus on existing legislation to end and prevent violence against women.

On December 11th, the UN will convene the 2nd Malaysia Women and Girls Forum around the theme: Bodily Autonomy – Ensuring Rights & Choices for Malaysia’s Women and Girls. 

On November 25th, we will light up the iconic KL tower in orange, but every day, let us act to end violence against women and girls, not by 2030, but right now.

Thank you.