Story and photos by Samantha Simon
Antigua and Barbuda joins the rest of the world in recognising the annual ’16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’ under the theme ‘Ending Femicide’.
Yesterday, the Directorate of Gender Affairs hosted an Orange Rally outside the House of Culture on lower Nevis Street, to show national support for ending violence against women and girls.
NGOs such as the Girl Guides, Women Against Rape (WAR), the Red Pledge Initiative and Caribbean Male Action Network (CariMAN) turned out in their orange and made presentations at the rally.
The hope of hosting this event was to create an emotional investment with the public through cultural performances and plays portraying the issues at hand.
Though the campaign’s focus was on violence against women, there were also acts bringing to light men’s struggle with gender-based violence and how technology has created a new form of abuse amongst youth.
One revolving theme amidst the messages shared was for the public to get more involved in reporting and stopping these acts when they see them and learning to recognise the signs.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that kicks off on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until December 10, Human Rights Day.