What is the 16 Days of Action Campaign?
One in three women worldwide face abuse, violence and rape everyday. In no country of the world are women free from this fear and terror. In the UK, one in four women experience domestic violence during their lifetime.
 25th November to 10th December 2014
The 16 Days Campaign is an international campaign that started in 1991. Since then, over 5,179 groups in 187 countries have taken part. The 16 Days Campaign is successful because of the support of people in local communities and organisations nationwide, raising more awareness of the issue of domestic violence in our communities each year.
Why those dates?
The 16 Days of Action run from 25th November, UN International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10th December, Human Rights Day.
The campaign spans these 16 Days in order to highlight the link between violence against women and human rights. Today, women and girls are subjected to many forms of human rights violations solely on the basis of their gender.
The 16 Days period includes other significant dates like  International Human Rights Defenders Day (29th November), World Aids Day (1st December) and the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre (6th December).
What are the aims of the Campaign?
The 16 Days Campaign is an opportunity for individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against women by:

  • Increasing women’s safety
  • Highlighting the nature and prevalence of violence against women
  • Raising awareness of violence against women as a human rights issue
  • Showing solidarity among women around the world
  • Promoting women’s leadership
  • Lobbying government
  • Strengthening local work to tackle violence against women

By organising events in our local communities that highlight the issue of domestic violence and promote the services available for women, we make the issue visible, we give hope to women who are suffering and we hold perpetrators of abuse to account.  Touchstone and Women’s Health Matters are running a joint event on the 10 Dec to promote the cause. The event will be focused on nurturing and recovery. More details to follow, look out for the news on Touchstone’s website and follow us on Twitter @Touchstone_spt
Karen Marshall, Touchstone’s Domestic Violence lead