Speech By Dr. Stephen Jackson while Marking 16 Days of Activism

• Nearly 1in 3 women have been abused in their lifetime. These are not just statistics. This are our mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and people in our community.
• During crisis, more women get affected. We saw this during the COVID19 Pandemic, in humanitarian crises, conflict and climate disasters.
• That is why this year’s global campaign theme “Orange the World: END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN NOW!” will mobilize all networks including:
•  civil society and women’s rights organizations, the UN system, the Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence, government partners, schools, universities, private sector, sports clubs and associations and individuals to advocate for inclusive, comprehensive and long-term strategies, programmes and resources to prevent and eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls in public and private spaces prioritizing the most marginalized women and girls.
• Violence Against Women and Girls is not inevitable – unless we stay silent
• These 16 days of activism will be an opportunity to showcase effective strategies and interventions to inspire all actors to scale up what works.
• It is also an opportunity to promote the leadership of women and girls in their diversity and their meaningful participation in policy making and decision making from global to local levels and to build on the momentum created during the Generation Equality Forum.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Violence against women and girls became the shadow pandemic.
• It reinforced many of the root causes of GBV  such as gender stereotypes and harmful social norms. It has been estimated that 11 million girls did not return to school, thereby increasing their risk of child marriage and exploitation
• The economic fallout is expected to push 47 million more women and girls into extreme poverty, reversing decades of progress and perpetuating structural inequalities that reinforce Gender Based Violence.
•  In addition to the impact of COVID-19, the global context of violent conflicts and humanitarian crises, including climate related disasters, are affecting more people than ever before, with a disproportionate impact on women and girls,
•  While the forms and contexts may differ across geographic locations, women and girls universally experience different forms of violence in public and private settings, in contexts of peace and in contexts of conflict as well as in humanitarian or crises settings.
• If we want to ensure that no woman or girl is left behind, we need comprehensive and inclusive approaches that can be adapted to rapidly changing contexts, preventing and responding to all forms of Gender Based Violence - such as the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative which is making significant progress in preventing and eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls

• The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all Governments to make the prevention and redress of violence against women and girls a key part of their national response plans for COVID-19. We are glad to note that 146 Member States including Kenya have expressed strong support and the UN in Kenya is supporting the interagency engagement strategy on GBV and COVID-19.
• Friends, We have to address the root causes of GBV including recognition of GBV as a violation of human rights
• We have seen that poverty and socio-economic insecurity is also one of the factors contributing to GBV, particularly trafficking, early marriage and sexual violence in displacement. Intimate partner violence also tends to increase in contexts of poverty, partly reflecting ideals and expectations linking masculinity to the provider role and subsequent sentiments of ‘failed masculinity’.
•  We have seen how GBV has negative impact on economy due to absenteesm from work and poverty violence prevents women from contributing to, and benefiting from, development by restricting their choices and limiting their ability to act.
• Another area we need to look into, is keeping children in school. The number of years a person spends in school has a positive correlation with a decrease in both future victimisation and perpetration of physical and sexual violence
• We have to Bridging the gap between law and practice. through the strengthening of accountability mechanisms to follow up and evaluate the implementation of laws addressing prevention and response to GBV.
• For this, we will have to work closely with police, judiciary and others at the first line of defence for victims of GBV
• Perpetrators of GBV must be held accountable under national and international law. Yet, attempting to reduce GBV by a simple focus on prosecuting offenders may not lead quickly to the desired outcomes
• We have to recognize the limitations of convictions as prevention and combine legal actions with secondary prevention efforts addressing social and psychological driving forces, particularly in post-conflict settings.
• Most importantly, we should stand with the survivors of Gender Based Violence, and offer support services. Every time a woman speaks up about her experience and she is yobelieved, the cycle of abuse continues.
• Let us all work together, not just during the 16 days of activism, but everyday to end all forms of Gender Based violence and uphold human rights for all

Thank you