Violence against women

Last night, 16-year-old Girlguide, Caitlin, met 16-year-old acid attack survivor Shonali, after ActionAid's Survivors' Runway fashion show. This special event was to stand in solidarity with survivors to end all forms of violence against women and girls. Watch the two teenagers reflect on the show and share their messages to girls in the UK for International Day of the Girl.

With London Fashion Week coming to a close and Milan Fashion Week about to begin, ActionAid looks at the mountain of challenges that garment workers still face everyday in the ugly business of fast fashion.  

Sunday 10th December marks the end of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, an annual global movement emphasising all forms of violence against women and girls as a human rights issue. Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) don’t just come together once a year - but all year, to be a voice and to struggle for the rights of other people. It’s their role in opposing the patriarchy and making change that means they need to be supported in ending gender-based violence.

Every year on 25 November, we come together to celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW). This important day for women’s rights activists often goes relatively unnoticed by the rest of the world. But in the midst of a huge international debate on sexual abuse and harassment, could this year’s be a chance for a real conversation on the causes of violence against women? Here’s why IDEVAW is important, and why we all need to do more to tackle this pervasive problem.

Great news! After more than a year of our supporters campaigning shoulder to shoulder with women’s rights activists around the world, the government have just announced a big chunk of funding to support the grassroots groups ending violence against women. These groups are the absolute backbone of the fight for gender equality, so this is amazing news. Here’s how this will make a difference to women’s and girls’ lives all over the world:

Women living in the Sutrapur slum of Dhaka, as in much of Bangladesh, face discrimination, injustice, violence and denial of their rights in all areas of their lives. They are often denied the right to earn their own income, they have little or no say in family decisions, and domestic violence is an accepted part of married life. This in turn means they can’t provide for their children or afford to give them an education. This was the case for 24-year-old mother-of-two, Jhorna, but through support from ActionAid child sponsors, she has been able to turn her life around and can now pay for her daughter to go to school – an amazing example of how child sponsorship doesn’t just benefit one child but supports their whole community. I will leave her to tell you her story.