In 1999, the UN declared November 25 to be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. There's not a lot of events going on in Canada, that I can find, but it's something that I wanted to bring to the attention of babblers.
On November 25, 1960, three sisters, Patria Mercedes Mirabal, María Argentina Minerva Mirabal and Antonia María Teresa Mirabal, were assassinated in the Dominican Republic on the orders of the Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabel sisters fought hard to end Trujillo's dictatorship. Activists on women's rights have observed a day against violence on the anniversary of the deaths of these three women since 1981.
From the Interparliamentary Union:
Violence against women has reached pandemic proportions: according to available country data, seven out of 10 women experience sexual and physical violence during their lifetime. No society is immune to such violence. It can take on many forms and occurs just about everywhere: domestic violence, sexual abuse of girls at school, sexual harassment in the workplace, early or forced marriage, genital mutilation, sexual assault, rape as a weapon of war, to name the most common. Nowadays, the chances of a woman aged between 15 and 44 years falling victim to domestic violence and rape is higher than the risk of cancer, a road accident or malaria.
Some progress has been noted, however. The action of several parliaments has helped make the problem of violence against women more visible nationally and has made it a priority on the political agenda. A growing number of countries have passed laws and devised national action plans to tackle this problem. But there are still loopholes and much remains to be done to speed up progress and make a real difference to the lives of women everywhere.
