The Global 16 Days of Activism Campaign runs every year from November 25th (International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence) to December 10th (Human Rights Day). Launched by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991, the campaign calls to end all forms of gender-based violence against women and girls. Over 600 organisations in 187 countries have participated and supported campaigns reaching 300 million individuals.

This global initiative seeks to:

• Raise awareness about GBV as a human rights issue at local, national, and international levels
• Mobilise and link together advocacy on a global scale
• Offer opportunities for discussions and strategy sharing
• Pressure governments to implement the commitments they have made in national and international legal instruments
• Demonstrate the solidarity of activists around the world.
  (Centre for Women’s Global Leadership – About the Global 16 Days of Activism Campaign)

Read on to see how IDS Alumni are committed themselves to ending gender-based violence.

Rhoda Robinson (MAGen29) and Olusola Owonikoko (MAGlob10)

Rhoda Robinson, Director at Hacey Health Initiative, and Olusola Owonikoko, Executive Director at Project Enable Africa, are taking part in activities across Nigeria to support the #16DaysOfActivism campaign to end violence against women and girls in all spheres of their lives.

Image from the medical outreach held on December 7th 2022

As part of the 16 days of activism, Rhoda is carrying out a series of activities aimed at increasing awareness on gender-based violence, including traditional harmful practices. Her activities, targeted at the general public, policy and decision makers at all levels, and women and girls, advocate for increased investment in policy action, support for preventing violence against women and supporting survivors. These activities support Hacey’s main beneficiaries who are women and girls in underserved communities, including those with disabilities. The activities include:

• Media engagements where they call on action for protecting women and girls across traditional and digital media, including raising awareness through social media display picture badges on safe reporting of GBV to keep women and girls safe: https://getdp.co/GBV
• Community outreach programs to community and religious leaders to advocate for the abandonment of the harmful traditional practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), school outreach to teenagers and educators on how to promote an end to FGM and reporting of any suspected act of FGM. These awareness campaigns work with local community actors and members of the EndFGM alliance across southwest Nigeria.
• Medical outreach in partnership with a fellow alumnus (Olusola Owonikoko) to provide information and medical care for people with disabilities on preventing violence against women.
• Community safe space programs for 200 girls in local communities, providing mental health care and counselling, information on responding to risky situations and addressing questions regarding their sexual health. The safe space programs also provide soft skills training for girls on how to build their confidence and strengthen their voice.
• Discussion forum on the need to improve the implementation of policies that protect women and girls from violence and the roles we all play as individuals and a collective.
• Holding an art content #SpeakMyTruth to help promote awareness of ending FGM

#SpeakMyTruth Art contest  

These activities work with our existing networks of volunteers across the country and support the campaign to end violence against women and girls in all spheres of their lives.

How can you be involved?

If you are currently in Nigeria, working in GBV or interested in this area and want to help support Rhoda and Olusola by participating in their awareness campaigns or discussions, please send an email to IDS Alumni alumni@ids.ac.uk to be connected.

How can people stay motivated after the 16 Days of Activism Campaign ends?

(Rhoda) People can stay motivated by first remembering that just like violence against women doesn’t end after the 16 days, neither should our advocacy for an end to it. Lend your support to campaigns on ending violence against women. From sharing content to educate people about it on your platform, to speaking out and reporting when you see any form of violence against women and girls. These individual acts go a long way to change the culture of acceptance and silence that surrounds violence against women and girls.

Sarah Egbo and Ola Abagun (MAGen32)

As female professionals in the development space, Sarah Egbo (Policy Lead, Gender Mobile Initiative and Youthlead Ambassador) and Ola Abagun (Executive Director, ATHENA Network) say their experience has brought about the need to hold insightful conversations preventing VAWG (violence against women and girls), Movement Building and Feminist Leadership.

These concepts have also been identified by the UN-UNiTE Campaign as critical domains that require an increased level of commitment and action to holistically address gender-based violence against women and girls.

Sarah Egbo and Ola Abagun Tweet Chat flyer on activism, movement building and feminist leadership. 

For the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, Sarah and Ola held a Twitter Chat which focused on addressing questions related to Activism in preventing VAWG (violence against women and girls), Movement Building and Feminist Leadership. You can read the conversation here.

What do you hope to get out of the conversation? 

(Sarah) We want people to have an increased level of awareness and commitment to preventing and responding to GBV and VAWG as activists. We also want increased support towards feminist-led movements and female leadership. 

What can people (IDS Alumni) do going forward to help end GBV and VAWG beyond the 16 days of Activism?

(Sarah and Ola) IDS Alumni can show up as activists every day by volunteering with and resourcing grassroots feminist organisations, calling out GBV/ VAWG as active bystanders and collaborating with other persons and organisations

What does the 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) mean to you?

(Ola) For me as an intersectional feminist and life-long advocate for gender equality, #16DaysOfActivism is an annual opportunity for all of us to collectively amplify our voices and efforts to end gender-based violence around the world 

Lisa Trebs (MADev13)

Lisa Trebs in a Project Manager at medica mondiale, a German NGO and feminist women’s rights organisation committed to ending sexualised violence – worldwide. They support women and girls in (post-)conflict areas who have experienced sexualised and gender-based violence (SGBV). Together with their partner organisations, medica mondiale campaign for women's rights and the self-determination of women and girls.

The photo is taken by partner organisation, Medica Liberia.Medica Liberia during the Thursdays in Black campaign. 

What is medica mondiale doing for the 16 days of Activism?

(Lisa) For the 16 days of activism, we are certain that feminist solidarity with allied organisations and activists gives us the strength to continue working for a more just world despite all setbacks. In the #16DaysOfActivism we present some of these allies and amplify their voices, both feminist activists and organisation in Germany and in our partner organisations. Side by side, we are committed to a world where women and girls can live in dignity and justice. Solidarity is the main theme of our shared activism, and our allies and us share our understandings of solidarity and how we experience it in our daily work and in feminist collectives.

How can IDS Alumni be involved in medica Mondiale or be part of the overall efforts to end sexualised violence – worldwide?

(Lisa) In the past years, we have seen how fragile the protection of women's rights is - not only in war and crisis zones. Therefore, today more than ever, we need to stand together: to defend what we have already achieved, to strengthen women's rights and to fight the causes of violence. We call on everyone to share our messages, read and talk about women's rights online and offline, and support local feminist movements. We fight for nothing less than a life of dignity and justice, a life without violence for all of us!

Follow medica Mondiale on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Giovanna Morales (MAGov06)

Giovanna Morales is the founder and director of Xanah, Mujeres Floreciendo, a Mexican NGO that supports women economic empowerment.

Xanah is a Mexican civil society organisation oriented towards gender economic justice. Their aim is to empower vulnerable women to enable them to obtain a fair income. Xanah believes that one of the principles of avoiding violence and dependence is having the choice to work on their own. Xanah provides an integral approach, under which women are not only supported to generate income, but accompanied on the process in order to guarantee an impactful outcome.

Xanah held a digital campaign through their Facebook for the 16 Days of Activism.

If you want to share and promote stories of your activism, please email alumni@ids.ac.uk or add to the comments section underneath this article.

Read more from IDS and 16 Days Of ACtivism:
IDS in Solidarity with 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
Gender justice: Decades of research from the IDS Bulletin