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16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls:
Ensure Justice, Protect Survivors, End Impunity
25 November - 10 December
16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls:
Ensure Justice, Protect Survivors, End Impunity
25 November - 10 December
Gender-based violence happens everyday across the UK. It happens in homes, relationships, communities and online spaces, affecting women of all ages and backgrounds.
Violence against women and girls is a national emergency. A woman is killed by a man every three days in the UK.
Women should be safe everywhere they go — at home, in public, online. Everywhere. Always.
But one in four women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime, and one in three have experienced online abuse or harassment1.
Gender-based violence can and must be prevented. Which is why every November, people come together to challenge harmful attitudes, call for improved laws and services, and take action to end gender-based violence for good.
1 Refuge.
You can help us end violence against women and girls
Show your support and wear the 16 Days of Activism Orange Ribbon.
Bring your business in to take action this 16 Days.
Get the tools and knowledge to safely intervene when you witness harassment.
Every year, from 25 November to 10 December, the world unites for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence — a global movement led by the United Nations to end one of the most urgent and widespread human rights violations.
Over 16 Days, people across the UK and around the world speak out, stand up, and take action — to demand a future where every woman and girl can live free from violence and fear.
This year, the theme is “UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Ensure Justice, Protect Survivors, End Impunity.” This theme puts survivors at the centre, and calls for stronger laws and accountability while demanding greater action to stop violence before it occurs.
Justice for survivors
For many women experiencing gender-based violence, seeking help can be difficult, unsafe or simply out of reach. Fear of not being believed, stigma, shame, financial dependence and safety concerns can stop women from accessing support. Even when women do report their experience, they may face complex systems, inadequate support and significant barriers to accessing justice.
We need change and we need it now. This means stronger laws and services that truly support survivors and make it easier to access safety and justice, as well as ensuring people who use violence are held accountable for their actions.
Subscribe to our mailing list for the latest updates and to take action this 16 Days of Activism.
The police receive a domestic abuse-related call every 30 seconds.
Yet it is estimated that less than 24% of domestic abuse crime is reported to the
police.
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Disabled people aged 16 and over are more than twice as likely to experience domestic abuse than those without a disability.
Black women are more likely to experience repeated violence than other ethnic groups.
35% of Black women who experience domestic abuse are victimised more than once, compared to 26% of white women.
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40% of homeless women state domestic
abuse as a factor that contributed to their homelessness.
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Hate online harms offline
Imagine receiving a message from a stranger that contained chillingly accurate details about your daily routine. Or consider the shock of discovering that your footage has been digitally altered into explicit content and splashed across the internet.
These are not hypothetical scenarios of digital abuse — they are a frightening reality for millions of women and girls navigating the digital world today.
What starts as online abuse can swiftly spiral into danger that extends beyond screens and borders, making it impossible for many women to feel safe at home, work, or in public spaces
New technologies are creating new forms of abuse
New technologies are driving digital violence and abuse. From online harassment and cyberstalking to doxing, non-consensual image sharing and deepfakes – digital technologies are weaponised to silence, shame, and intimidate women and girls.
Technology is rapidly evolving, worsening violence against women and creating new forms of abuse. But our laws and justice systems are struggling to keep up. No one should have to live in fear just for existing online. The digital world should be a safe space for everyone.
Your donations help fund our work to end gender-based violence across the UK and around the world.
50% support the UK’s Safe Spaces Now programme to make all public spaces safe for women and girls.
50% support the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women & Girls
This global grant mechanism supports initiatives that aim to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, often focusing on marginalised communities.
£10 helps fund critical survivor-centred research, providing evidence for national government to increase violence prevention work
£25 helps provide digital toolkits to prevent and tackle online violence against women and girls
£50 helps fund public education campaigns, empowering communities and organisations to prevent violence against women
£100 funds a trained community safety champion, who will safely intervene when a woman is targeted in a public space
UN Women UK urges the UK Government and the private sector to:
Hold perpetrators accountable through better laws and enforcement.
Make tech companies step up by hiring more women to create safer online spaces, removing harmful content quickly, and responding to reports of abuse.
Support survivors with real resources by funding women’s rights organisations and movements.
Invest in prevention and culture change through digital literacy and online safety training for women and girls and programmes that challenge toxic online cultures. It’s time to reclaim our digital spaces and demand a future where technology powers equality.
Gender-based violence affects women to different degrees or in different ways, we need to tailor our responses. Now is the time to unite and end violence against women for all.