“I welcome the chorus of voices calling for an end to the violence that affects an estimated one in three women in her lifetime. I applaud leaders who are helping to enact and enforce laws and change mindsets. And I pay tribute to all those heroes around the world who help victims to heal and to become agents of change .”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

25 November is recognised by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  Further information is available from the UN website here

In Lewisham we are working to support the Council’s work on the White Ribbon Campaign but also organising our own events to mark the day.

• An exhibition of shoes to symbolise the women who have been killed in Britain by violent men during 2014
• A session of songs and poetry, celebrating survivors of violence
• Advice to the library on books and literature to
• An online collection of voices of male allies from the borough

Why 25th November?

By resolution 54/134 of 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the problem on that day.

Women’s activists have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic, on orders of Dominican ruler Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).

On 20 December 1993 the General Assembly, by resolution 48/104, adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.