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Weekly Action - 28 November 2024 - Gender-Based Violence

Take action to tackle violence against women as the world marks 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.

 

Gender-based violence

This Monday 25 November was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  Every year it marks the start of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence promoted by organisations right around the world.  This year Arise is adding its voice to these calls.  Gender-based violence is a horrific scourge.  Around our world every 10 minutes a woman or girl is killed as a result of gender-based violence.  The vast majority of which is perpetrated by partners or family members.  One in three women experience gender-based violence in their lifetimes.  As Christians we know that our God abhors all violence, including all sexual and gender-based violence.  To take just one example from the book of Genesis, when Shechem the Hivite rapes Jacob and Leah’s daughter it is described as “an outrageous thing … a thing that should not be done” (Gen 34: 7).  As Christians we should all take a stand against such crimes.

 

Reform Movements

Gender-based violence tragically takes place in all countries, but it is worst in countries that have weak rule of law and weak human rights protections.  One of the most effective ways we can combat gender-based violence is to campaign for better human rights laws and legislations, and greater democracy, including the ability of women to vote and run for office.  Where dramatic improvements in human rights and democracy have occurred around the world in recent decades they have overwhelmingly been driven by mass peaceful reform movements of ordinary people demanding change.  This is a key conclusion from a major report from Arise, the Arise Manifesto.  In recent decades peaceful reform movements have had dramatic success in Serbia, Madagascar, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon, Nepal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, East Germany, Slovenia, Mali, Bolivia, the Philippines, Zambia, South Korea, Chile, Argentina, Haiti, Brazil, Uruguay, Malawi, Thailand, Bulgaria, Hungary, Nigeria, and many other countries.  Of course such movements require great courage and perseverance from those involved.  They are not guaranteed to succeed every time.  But overwhelmingly the power of ordinary people peacefully refusing to submit and striving for greater human rights and protections, including protection from gender-based violence, has proved to be remarkable.  Throughout history, Christians and churches have played a hugely important central role in such reform movements (Arise Manifesto, pg 283 – 303).  Supporting such bottom-up Reform Movements (and the Christians that are so often at the heart of them) is one of three key focus campaigns for Arise. 

 

Take Action

Speak out in advocacy
Contact David Lammy, the UK’s Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, via social media.  Ask the UK government to do more to support Reform Movements struggling against gender-based violence, and in support of women and girls and human rights around the world.  Contact him on Twitter at: @DavidLammy, on Instagram at: david.lammy, on Facebook at: David Lammy, or search for him on your favourite social media platform.

Pray
Pray for all those who face gender-based violence.  Pray for protection, healing and safety.  Pray that more democratic governments that truly respect human rights come into power around the world and legislate and enforce laws to clamp down on such horrific abuse. 

Give
Give to great Christian organisations like Restored which campaigns to end violence against women and supports victims of domestic abuse.

Practical Action
Help spread the message further by following Arise on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and resharing important actions like this one.

Ethical Consumption
Try and avoid buying products and services from companies whose operations (inadvertently or not) are helping to prop up unjust regimes where violence against women and girls is tolerated.  Check out the Ethical Consumer website for guidance on this.

 

Find out more

Latest news – Updates on previous campaigns and latest news from the Arise movement.

Join a local Arise group in your church or area – It’s great to take this action as individual Christians, but even better to come together with others to pray, discuss, worship, learn, have fun and take action together.  Contact Arise if you are interested.

Arise Manifesto – Find out more about this week’s action in the Arise Manifesto, Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world. 

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