A Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
On 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Linhart Hall in Cankarjev dom played host to the National conference on preventing and responding to violence against women in Slovenia.
Women’s rights activists have observed 25 November as a day against gender-based violence since 1981. This date was selected to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were brutally murdered in 1960 by order of the country’s ruler, Rafael Trujillo (1930-1961).
Five years ago, the #MeToo movement, founded by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, exploded and sparked global mobilisation creating a moment of urgency in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. Since then, unprecedented awareness and momentum have been created thanks to the relentless work of grassroots activists, women’s human rights defenders, and survivor advocates worldwide to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.
There is no place for violence in the 21st century
The attendees joined three roundtables led by representatives of NGOs. In addition, participants could listen to an eye-opening panel discussion with esteemed speakers and experts from the field. The key questions the attendees strived to answer were: how to prevent violence, how victims can be ensured adequate support and what the roles of individuals are. Moreover, the participants discussed the importance of the judicial system, the police force, social workers and nongovernmental institutions.
One of the crucial findings was that there is no place for violence in the 21st century. The conference proved that both institutions and society are aware of the problem of violence. The conference incited change in the right direction.