16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is the violence perpetrated against persons because of their gender or mainly against persons of a certain gender. This is an extreme manifestation of discrimination on the grounds of gender, the victims of which are most often women.

Gender-based violence is considered to be one of the most common human rights violations, affecting women and girls much more than men. Unfortunately, Ukraine is no exception to this rule. According to a 2019 UNDP survey, in Ukraine, 26% of women over the age of 15 have been abused by an intimate partner, and 5% by other men. Every second woman in Ukraine has ever suffered from sexual harassment. Psychological violence is the most common, with 38% of respondents saying they have experienced economic violence or harassment, and 3% with domestic violence. The pandemic has exacerbated the problem in Ukraine, which has been exacerbated in recent years by the military conflict in the East and general militarization and polarization in society.

2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the 16-day global campaign against gender-based violence. The 16 Days of Action campaign is an important opportunity to raise awareness and call for change at the international, national and local levels to end violence against women and girls. The campaign runs from November 25 (UN Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to December 10, 2021.

One way to support the fight against gender-based violence in Ukraine would be to ratify the so-called Istanbul Convention, currently the most progressive international instrument on combating violence against women. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (full title) aims to prevent violence, protect and support victims, and bring perpetrators to justice. The document establishes criminal liability for all forms of violence (psychological, physical, sexual, and economic). It was developed by the Council of Europe in 2011 in Istanbul (therefore the convention is called "Istanbul"). It takes effect after ratification by the national parliament and appropriate adjustment of national legislation.