WUNRN
ORANGE DAY - 25th OF EVERY MONTH -
STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
STOP STONING & ALL FORMS OF
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN & GIRLS - Sign Stop Stoning Petition - Info Below.
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July 2013
In July last year the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign proclaimed every 25th of the month as Orange Day. Initiated and led by the UNiTE campaign Global Youth Network, worldwide activities implemented on this day by UN country offices and civil society organizations strive to highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, on 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), but every month.
Under the heading ‘Safe spaces for women and girls’, this year the UNiTE campaign is focusing its Orange Day activities on highlighting recommendations of the agreed conclusions of the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) which took place in March this year. In April, UNiTE focused on ‘Safe Work Place for Women and Girls’, in May it highlighted ‘Safe Homes for Women and Girls’ while in June, UNiTE’s Orange Day coincided with the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (June 26th) and the campaign focused on ‘State Custody and State Care as Safe Spaces for Women and Girls’’. This month, the campaign highlights ‘Cyber Space as Safe Space for Women and Girls’ and it is also the first birthday of Orange day.
CYBER SPACE AS SAFE SPACE FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
Technological developments in information and communications have presented rich and varied opportunities for advancements in the empowerment and participation of women and girls. New platforms now exist from which to raise awareness and disseminate information which have enabled women access to a wealth of information, presented new modes of communication, and new means of mobilization. The proliferation of digital technologies have enabled the development of innovative tools and programmes to prevent and end violence against women and girls and have facilitated information sharing on the topic.
Unfortunately, along with the myriad of possibilities brought about by technological developments, new risks and types of violence have also emerged. One such form of violence is cyberbullying, which occurs on the internet and mobile phones and can be initiated in cyberspace, or be an extension of face-to-face bullying. Cyberbullying can include threats and attempts to humiliate its subject through the posting of embarrassing pictures or personal information. It can be particularly difficult to hold perpetrators to account since bullies can easily conceal their identity online.
Technology has also played a role in enabling and exacerbating violence which takes place offline. It offers possibilities to store and share personal information about ones’ movements, social life and finances which have offered increased possibilities for partners or family members to exert control in the lives of others. Furthermore, the anonymity afforded by the internet has exposed women and girls to specific risks, including the possibility that those who they are communicating with are doing so under a false identity.
57th COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN
At the 57th Session on the Commission of the Status of Women, governments made a range of commitments directed towards harnessing the possibilities offered by information and communication technologies and making cyberspace safe for women and girls:
Support the development and use of information and communication technologies and social media as a resource for the empowerment of women and girls, including access to information on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls; and develop mechanisms to combat the use of information and communication technologies and social media to perpetrate violence against women and girls, including the criminal misuse of information and communication technologies for sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking in women and girls, and emerging forms of violence, such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying and privacy violations that compromise women’s and girls’ safety. Pg. 13 (WW)
ORANGE DAY ACTIVITIES (25th July)
This Orange Day, the UNiTE campaign will highlight both the need to end
violence against women and girls which take place in cyber
space, and the positive role that information and
communications technologies and programs can play in preventing and ending
violence against women and girls.
What can you do?
· Say no to violence against women and girls in cyber space. Turn cyber space orange for Orange day. Change your Facebook profile picture to the UNiTE campaign’s July 25 ribbon image, post pictures of yourself wearing orange, Use & share the photo of the UNiTE Ribbon.
· On Thursday July 25, the UNiTE campaign will host a Twitter discussion, along with other partners, around how information and communication technologies can be used to prevent and end violence against women. Join us. Share information about initiatives you know about. Invite others to do the same. Learn about innovative projects. Follow @SayNO_UNiTE and #orangeday on Twitter.
SAMPLE SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGES
Twitter
· Happy #OrangeDay!This month #UNiTE focuses on safe cyber space 4women&girls.Check out initiatives using tech2 #endVAW http://owl.li/mlJkg
· Today is #OrangeDay! Wear orange and #UNiTE to end #violenceagainstwomen and girls in cyber space. http://o wl.li/mlJkg
· Say NO to #VAW & girls in cyberspace.This #orangeday,turn cyber space orange 2show ur support for #UNiTE campaign! http://owl.li/mlJkg
· After #CSW57, #UNiTE campaign says harness technology as a tool to #endVAW and make cyber space safe for women&girls! http://owl.li/mlJkg
Sample Facebook messages
· Today is #OrangeDay and the UNiTE campaign is calling for cyber space to be safe and violence-free for women and girls. At CSW57 on ending violence against women and girls, governments committed to: “Support the development and use of information and communication technologies and social media as a resource for the empowerment of women and girls, including access to information on the prevention of and response to violence against women and girls; and develop mechanisms to combat the use of information and communication technologies and social media to perpetrate violence against women and girls, including the criminal misuse of information and communication technologies for sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, child pornography and trafficking in women and girls, and emerging forms of violence, such as cyberstalking, cyberbullying and privacy violations that compromise women’s and girls’ safety” Pg. 12 (WW).
· The UNiTE campaign has declared the 25th of each month #OrangeDay and today calls for cyber space to be a safe space for women and girls. Show your support by wearing orange and turning cyber space orange! Post pictures of yourself wearing orange, turn your profile picture orange and find out more about what you can do. http://owl.li/mlJkg
· Today is #OrangeDay, a day to take action to end violence against women and girls. The UNiTE campaign is focusing on making cyber space safe for women and girls. Join UNiTE’s Twitter discussion on using information and communication technologies to prevent and end violence against women and girls! http://owl.li/mlJkg
· 25 July– is one year since the UNiTE campaign declared the 25th of each month as #OrangeDay. Since then, people all over the world have come together to take part in activities to prevent and end violence against women. ____________________________________________________________
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Original Message -----
From: WUNRN
ListServe
To: WUNRN ListServe
Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 11:24 PM
Subject: Stop Stoning UN Petition - Call for Signatures Against
Stoning
WUNRN
PETITION AGAINST STONING - CALL FOR
SIGNATURES
Petition: http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/united-nations-secretary-general-the-ohchr-end-stoning-now
Petition
to the United Nations Secretary General & the OHCHR: End Stoning Now
04/08/2013
- Stoning is not simply a relic of the past. In fourteen countries around the
world, this brutal punishment and form of torture continues to exist in the
here and now. Please join the campaign against stoning – give us your support
and urge the UN to take action on stoning by signing.
In 2008, a 16 year old from Iraqi Kurdistan named Aziz eloped with a man against her parents’ wishes. Fearful of her life, she sought help from the Department to End Domestic Violence. Yet the Department turned her over to her father, and her family subsequently stoned her to death.
In July 2012, Najiba, 21 was stoned and shot dead in Afghanistan in front of a hundred and fifteen men of the community, cheering the stoning. This horrific incident was filmed by a community member present. Najiba had been accused of moral crimes by local warlords and commanders.
In Sudan, Intisar Sharif Abdallah and Layla Ibrahim Issa were sentenced to death by stoning in 2012, accused of adultery. Following growing Sudanese and international public pressure, they were released on appeal.
And in March 2013, the head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Tunisia, called for a 19 year old Tunisian named Amina to be stoned to death for posting nude protest images online.
These are but a few recent cases of women being terrorized by this heinous practice.
Stoning is a cruel form of torture that causes grievous pain before death. It is a profound violation of fundamental human rights. The practice of stoning disproportionately targets and polices women and their conduct, and it often further entails a number of civil and political rights violations that follow on from unfair judicial processes and conditions of detention. Women are more likely to be sentenced to stoning when misogynist interpretations of religious laws and cultural mores form the basis of laws governing sexual relationships and the family.
Let’s stand together and say NO to stoning. Women’s rights cannot be sacrificed to these interpretations. Women have the right to freely participate in and adhere to their own beliefs but today they continue to be silenced by acts of violence.
Stand up against violence against women. Cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment cannot be tolerated, and the universality of human rights must not be held hostage in the name of ‘culture’ or tradition.
We call on States where stoning still exists in law and in practice to be held accountable to their international human rights obligations by banning stoning in law and in practice and to bring perpetrators to justice.
We strongly urge the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to heed this urgent call by openly denouncing the practice of executions by stoning as one of the most brutal forms of violence against women and as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.
This petition is supported by the following
organizations:
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML); Women’s UN Report Network (WUNRN);
Women’s Intercultural Network; Justice for Iran; Research Institute on Women,
Peace and Security; Foundation of Solidarity for Justice; Baobab for Women’s
Human Rights; Salmmah Women’s Resource Centre; Solidaritas Perempuan; Groupe de
Recherche sur les Femmes et Les Lois Senegal (GREFELS); Shirkat Gah Women’s
Resource Centre; and the Institute for Women’s Empowerment (IWE).