Activists Say the Awareness Campaign against Gender-based Violence is a Year-round Effort
But while gender-based violence continues to be a perpetual problem in our society, the education and awareness campaign does not stop. In fact, while the sixteen days of activism is front and centre at this time, those who work behind the scenes at the National Women’s Commission like Eleanor Murillo and Geovanni Brackett told us that their mission is to create policies that protect women and children and the effort is a year-round one.
Eleanor Murillo, Program Officer, National Women’s Commission
“Throughout the sixteen days, all partners working together to amp up the type of awareness that we do all year round. So it’s not only during sixteen days that we do this type of work. This year’s theme is Unite – Activism to End Violence against Women and Girls, so it’s speaking to everybody working together to ensure that we eradicate this pandemic, which is gender-based violence. We have to target different stakeholders, so women who are often the victims of gender-based violence, girls and boys who are also victims and can be perpetrators, men – we also engage men and boys because gender-based violence affects our entire society. It’s not just a woman’s issue; it’s a human rights issue.”
Geovanni Brackett, Commissioner, National Women’s Commission
“You can be between a rock and a hard place especially when someone you know – because I’m someone who a lot of people know me – and then you have to get involved in a particular situation. Some males may expect you to be more apologetic for them or to be supportive, but I tell any of my friends that you could get into all sorts of trouble and I’ll be there for you, but if you beat a woman, don’t expect me to jump out of my bed anytime of the night or morning to go – so for me it’s not difficult because growing up, I had to witness my babysitter being beaten and being kicked down thirteen flights of stairs. If you have a woman and she’s of age and you two are going out, beating her won’t make her into what you want. You could bully her, you could intimidate her, but that’s not love.”
The event is held over a sixteen-day period because it starts on the Day of Elimination of Violence against Women and it ends on December tenth, which is International Human Rights Day.