How do we create a future free from violence against women and girls?
Let’s start with a simple action, wearing orange.
Orange is the chosen color for the annual global campaign “UNiTE to End Violence against Women.” The UNiTE campaign urges individuals worldwide to wear this bright color, symbolizing optimism and the commitment to a future free from violence against women and girls.
Launched in 2008 by the UN Secretary-General, the UNiTE campaign aims to galvanize support for the civil society initiative “16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence,” which runs from the 25th of November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until the 10th of December, Human Rights Day.
Activism can take many forms. This year, in Guatemala, advocates displayed 438 candles and flowers to symbolize the number of femicides registered in 2023. In Italy, a ceremony was held at the Farnesina Palace, in the presence of high-level officials, to appeal for adequate funding and resources to eradicate gender-based violence. The Palace was then colored in orange, as has been done in previous years with the Dubai Flame in the United Arab Emirates, the Skopje Fortress in North Macedonia, and the La Moneda Presidential Palace in Chile, signifying a brighter future for all women and girls.
The 16-Day initiative, while looking to the future, also remembers the past. The kick-off day, 25 November, commemorates the Mirabal sisters, three activists from the Dominican Republic who were violently assassinated by state agents in 1960, during the Trujillo dictatorship. This day honors their legacy by calling for an end to violence against women and girls in all contexts, from times of peace to times of conflict, from public spaces to the home, school, or workplace.
Let us UNiTE in our resolve to create lasting change and ensure a safer, more compassionate tomorrow.
Together, let’s say "Enough" to all forms of violence against women and girls.
Access the Orange the World/UNiTE toolkit. Orange your world, share, and stand against gender-based violence!
