The Campaigns began in 1991 by the Women’s Global Leadership Institute with its first theme being Violence Against Women Violates Human Rights.
In 2008 the Secretary-General launched the Campaign UNITE by 2030 to End Violence against Women. In 2009 the UN Women launched the Say NO-UNITE to End Violence against Women as a Mobilization Platform for harnessing the Efforts of the UN and all Stakeholders involved in the Fight against Violence against Women by showcasing advocacies, news, and actions on ending violence against women and girls by people from all walks of life.
On the 25th of November in 1960, three Sisters from the Dominican Republic popularly known as the Mirabal Sisters (Patricia, Minerva, and Maria Teresa) were killed in the Las Mariposas assassination. They died at the hands of President Rafael Trujillo’s Secret Police after, they actively opposed the System of Ruling used by President Rafael of Cruelty and Systematic Violence.
Patricia, Minerva, and Maria Teresa even in their death were still activists of Human Rights and this was Symbolized by the date being declared International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Latin America in 1990, and in 1991 it was recognized Globally.
25th November is the Commemoration of the International Day Against Violence Against Violence and 10th December is the Commemoration of the International Human Rights Day. Coincidentally, the 15 Days in between have Significant Memories especially for women as November 29 is International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, 1st December is World Aids Day, and December 6th is the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre that saw 6 Women killed in 1989 by Marc Lupine in his quest to fight feminism.
These dates were specifically chosen to link violence against women and human rights to emphasize that gender-based violence against women is a violation of human rights.
Every year, GBV MKUKI Coalition in collaboration with the Government, UN Agencies and CSOs selects a national theme aiming to influence actions on a particular topic relevant in that year. While the development of the theme for the 2024 campaign is underway, GBV MKUKI Coalition places a special emphasis on local activism, ensuring that the voices of our communities are not only heard but also actively engaged in finding solutions to break the cycle of violence against women and children.
The targets for this year's campaign encompass the general public, men and boys, women
and girls, social groups within local communities, Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs),
International NGOs (INGOs), Private Sectors, Policymakers, and Development Partners. In
a specific way, our campaign seeks to inspire grassroots activism through simple yet effective community-led initiatives that can drive social change.
Additionally, the campaign is placing the young generation of women and girls, as well as men and boys, at the forefront of our efforts for societal transformation and advancement.
The goal of the 2024 campaign is to inspire every individual and institution to take
accountability and actively participate at both local and national levels. At the
community level, the campaign will empower local organizations to develop and implement their programs in commemoration of the campaign across different zones. We
anticipate that these activities will evolve into year-long initiatives aimed at putting an end to gender-based violence at the grassroots level.
On the national front, the campaign will establish forums and platforms that encourage collective critical thinking to promote actionable steps to end gender-based violence among duty-bearers and other stakeholders.
We will also engage the private sectors, to
garner their commitment to ending gender-based violence.
This year campaign employs wide range of strategies to ensure maximum number of communities are impacted.
The kick of the campaign will be on 25th November in Dodoma with the movement expanding to all regions across the country. The aim is to inspire every individual and institution to take part in this year’s campaign from local to National levels.
Among other countries, Tanzania commemorated the 16 days and this year, and the theme was “Ewe Mwananchi, Komesha Ukatili wa Kijinsia Sasa,” meaning, ‘End violence against women now.” This year, the campaign provided an opportunity for reflection, re-strategizing and re-energizing on the need to join forces to end Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC).
WiLDAF and MKUKI Coalition propose this year campaign to address the following key issues; The alarming and increasing of sexual violence in Tanzania, the issue of sexual harassment and sextortion especially at the Higher Learning Institutions, and Workplaces, the violence against women in the politics and election, the domestic violence which happens within families especially intimate partner violence, and the safety of women and girls in the digital space, music and film industries.
The campaign will contribute to the vision of NPA-VAWC, which envisions a Tanzania as a society where women and children enjoy their rights to an environment free from violence.
In the year 2019, the campaign aimed at initiating the debate and voices, to encourage every person’s responsibility, to fight the incidence of rape, sexual corruption and violence against sexual intimacy in the community. Also it intends to educate the community to provide safe environment to women and children because every person has the right to feel safe and be respected. This goal was to sensitize every person in his or her position regardless of age to take action against rape incidences, violence against sexual intimacy and sexual corruption.
On the year 2018; 16 days of activism campaign brought on board all duty bearers in order to take concrete steps toward bridging the public and private spheres and reaching institutions, communities, families, and individuals including children and reshaping perceptions of violence as well as gender roles between men and women. The campaign contributed towards the vision of NPA-VAWC, which envisions a Tanzania where women and children enjoy their rights to a violent free environment.
The 2017 global campaign marks 16 days of activism on gender based violence under overreaching theme in which it reflects the core principle of the transformative 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals. This theme reinforces the world’s commitment to a world free from violence for all women and girls around the world, while reaching the most underserved and marginalized group. Also, advocating for the enabling environment for policies and laws that are gender sensitive, development of shelters, having in place a Domestic Violence Act and Family Courts;