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http://16dayscwgl.rutgers.edu/2012-campaign/2012-campaign-highlights

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2012 Campaign Highlights

Click here for a downloadable version of the 2012 Campaign Highlights.

CWGL is pleased to share highlights of some of the hundreds of activities that took place during this year’s Campaign.  Thousands of activists worldwide organized initiatives to increase awareness of gender-based violence and call governments to respond, protect and prevent such violence. 

· For the second year in a row, Fundacion para Estudio e Investigacion de la Mujer in Argentina partnered with Proyecte Arte to bring young artists to the streets of Buenos Aires.  The works of art, originally made with stencil and serigraphy techniques, are the result of the collective analysis of, and work around, the causes and different types of violence against women and girls, as well as the rights that protect women. The messages were created by young people aimed to target other young people and address symbolic and media violence.

· In Egypt, Nazra for Feminist Studies released a Checklist for the government on how to achieve justice for women human rights defenders.  The Checklist addressed the culture of impunity surrounding violence against human rights defenders, and included concrete suggestions for the government to end such impunity and introduce policies that foster justice.

· President Michael Higgins of Ireland expressed his support for Women’s Aid and other groups working to end violence against women during this year’s 16 Days Campaign.  President Higgins noted that the Campaign “is an important initiative which expresses solidarity with the many women, both at home and abroad, who are subjected to aggression and cruelty. I thank and commend you for demonstrating Ireland's support for female victims of violence by partaking in this Action.”

· Across the Asian region, Soroptimist South West Pacific organized “Walk the Talk” marches in thirteen countries to draw attention to gender-based violence.  In Malaysia, three women completed a nearly 1000-kilometer walk across the country as part of their own “Walk The Talk From Perlis To Sabah: Stop Violence Against Women,” in partnership with the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and The Body Shop.

· For the 13^th year, the Government of South Africa, working alongside civil society organizations and the private sector, hosted country-wide activities to increase awareness about gender-based violence and build support for victims and survivors of abuse.  The Commission for Gender Equality released a report on the 2007-2011 National Action Plan to end gender-based violence, and hosted dialogues with stakeholders to strategize on policies and mechanisms to reduce violence.   

· At Rutgers University (USA), the Center for Women’s Global Leadership hosted “Digitizing Activism: The Visual Culture of Transnational Feminism,” a panel discussion highlighting the Center’s award-winning poster collection. The collection comprises posters by organizations participating in the 16 Days Campaign since the campaign’s founding in 1991, and documents the range of actions and participants who have shaped the campaign’s 22-year history.

· Building on this year’s Campaign theme, “From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World,” United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees created peace quilts and organized activities focused on combatting violence and working alongside men and boys as allies.  Commissioner António Guterres noted, “The 16 Days of Activism are an opportunity to underscore our commitment, but it is clear that our response – personal as much as collective – cannot be confined only to these 16 days,” and pledged new initiatives to address violence against displaced women and girls.