NO to violence against women and girls – #OrangeTheWorld

A graffiti designer live-tagged a world map on a large canvas. Representatives of Permanent Missions, UN agencies and civil society organisations were invited to spray the word NO on the global map – in the hope to create together a world where violence against women and girls has no place.

“This is a very important day here in Geneva, in Europe and across the world. It brings us all together in a gesture of solidarity and international responsibility and hopefully will raise awareness.”

Lotte Knudsen, EU Ambassador at the UN – Geneva

Across the globe, 1 in 3 women have suffered violence during their lifetime. Violence against women and girls comes in many forms: from domestic violence; cyber-violence; sexual violence; psychological violence; economic violence; femicide; to conflict-related sexual violence. The situation is alarming and deplorable.

The EU condemns all types of violence against women. But this year the EU pays special attention to violence against women in conflict areas and humanitarian crisis settings. In Ukraine, but also in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the DRC, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Yemen, and other states faced with war and conflict, many women and girls face persistent threat and sexual and gender-based violence. The EU is committed to preventing – and ensuring accountability for – these heinous offences that should have no place anywhere in the world.

Furthermore, the EU continues to support civil society initiatives to prevent and combat gender-based violence under the Daphne strand of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV), and next year it will establish a network on the prevention of gender-based violence and domestic violence to bring together EU Member States and stakeholders, and create a community of practice.

The EU’s external commitments are reflected in the Gender Action Plan III (GAP III) which calls for bold actions to tackle the structural causes of gender inequality through cooperation and support, in international fora and in political dialogues with countries around the world. By 2022, 70% of the EU’s new actions contributed to achieving gender equality, with the goal of reaching 85% by the end of 2025. The EU wants to be a leading force on all the priorities of GAP III, including on Women, Peace and Security.

In March 2022, the Commission proposed a new directive to combat violence against women and domestic violence. For the first time, it will set out binding EU rules to tackle violence, including online violence comprehensively.

The EU stands in solidarity with victims and survivors of violence. In addition, the EU-UN Spotlight initiative has demonstrated that change is possible, by improving the lives of millions of women and girls around the world, namely through better-informed national laws, policies and institutions, stronger local support services, and community-based prevention.

The EU calls for bold and united action at all levels to eradicate violence against women from our societies. Let us all join this global call, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and every day, and contribute to a world where every woman and girl has equal opportunities, rights and responsibilities.

Let’s #OrangeTheWorld and #OrangeGeneva together and deliver a strong message to STOP violence against women!

We need to act now for a gender-equal world.