GRANquinte, a local branch of Grandmothers Advocacy Network, is back engaging in 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls.
The global initiative begins on Nov 25th and continues to Dec 10. This has come to be known as the Orange Campaign, the colour having been chosen by the United Nations as a symbol of a brighter future for women around the world as awareness is raised.
In the release, it was shared that every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by an intimate partner or someone in their own family, nearly one in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual abuse in their lives, over 230 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation, and if there is no accelerated action, 9 million girls will still marry in childhood by 2030.
Albert College students are also participating in the campaign again this year.
GRANquinte stated that violence against women and girls is pervasive, but it is not inevitable. They encourage the Quinte region to speak out, Orange the World, share on social media, know what your workplace policies say about violence and harassment, take a course, call for funding and strategies to prevent violence against women and girls, and donate or give your time to organizations supporting victims of violence.
GRANquinte is selling lawn signs to be displayed from Nov 25th to Dec 10th. They can be purchsed from 10am to 2pm at the Belleville Public Library on Nov 19th and the Quinte West Public Library on Nov 28th, or by phoning 613-962-0285.
Every effort invested in preventing violence against women is a step towards a safer, more equal, and prosperous world.
