16 Days of Activism: Addressing violence against women

BY FAY FOSTER

The annual United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women takes place today, on 25 November.

Violence against women and girls remains one of the most prevalent and pervasive human rights violations in the world. Globally, almost one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. 

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains largely unreported due to the impunity, silence, stigma and shame surrounding it. 

It can manifest in physical, sexual and psychological forms, including: 

• Intimate partner violence (battering, psychological abuse, marital rape, femicide); 

• Sexual violence and harassment (rape, forced sexual acts, unwanted sexual advances, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, stalking, cyber-harassment); 

• Human trafficking (slavery, sexual exploitation); 

• Female genital mutilation; and 

• Child marriage. 

  
  

For at least 51,100 women globally in 2023, gender-based violence ended with one final and brutal act – their murder by partners and family members (news.un.org). That means a woman was killed every 10 minutes. 

The solution lies in robust responses, holding perpetrators accountable, and accelerating action through well-resourced national strategies and increased funding to women’s rights movements. 

Join 16 Days of Activism 

From today until 10 December 2025, the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence  campaign will focus on the theme: ‘UNiTE to End Digital Violence against All Women and Girls’.  Digital violence against women and girls is one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse. 

Did you know? 

• Globally, an estimated 736 million women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. One in four adolescent girls is abused by their partners. 

• 16% to 58% of women globally experience technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Generation Z and Millennials are the most affected. 

• 70% of women in conflict, war and humanitarian crises experience gender-based violence. 

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See here for ways you can participate in the 16 Days initiative:

16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence 2025 | November 25, 2025 | Awareness Days

Men as forces for positive change

Marcus Tawfik is The Salvation Army’s Senior Manager for Practice and Development in the Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) team. In this piece to kick off the 16 Days of Activism, Marcus discusses with colleague Lilly McKeich how men can be an active part of addressing negative attitudes or patterns of treating women.

To find out more about The Salvation Army’s FDV work, see here.

Prayer guide

The Salvation Army has prepared a prayer guide to use on each of the 16 days. We hope it encourages you to bring your concerns to God, and gain wisdom as we all seek to address this ongoing, deadly issue of gender-based violence. To read it, see here.