Dear friends,
We are writing to inform you about an initiative that Caritas will be undertaking to mark the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women 2023 (25 November) and the 16 Days of Activism against violence against women and girls.
The 16 Days of Activism is an international campaign that commences on 25 November and ends on 10 December, Human Rights Day. This year, the official theme for the campaign is: Unite – Invest to prevent violence against women and girls. Official information about the UN’s campaign can be found here.
Caritas Internationalis will participate in this global initiative by issuing a statement affirming its institutional and Confederation-wide commitment to eliminating violence against women through concrete action and investment. We will also undertake a social media campaign to raise awareness about this issue and demonstrate the good practices from across the Confederation to combat violence against women in its many different forms.
We are writing to invite you to join us in this campaign, and we are pleased to enclose here an embargoed version of the statement. We kindly request that you do not share this until 25 November, please, after which, please feel free to share it widely. We are sending it now in order to help you to prepare, in case you wish to also issue your own statement or comment.
The social media campaign will take place from 25 November – 10 December across the Caritas Internationalis channels on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We will also have a dedicated page on the CI website to the initiative.
Throughout the campaign, we will be using the hashtag: #CaritasForWomen.
This initiative is part of Caritas’s long-term strategic prioritisation of the promotion of women’s leadership and participation in decision making. Caritas recognises that violence against women and girls forms one of the strongest barriers from allowing women to access education, livelihoods, leadership and decision making. Combatting the root cause of this barrier means committing to actions which prevent violence against women.
Thank you for all that you do to protect and empower women across the Confederation. We look forward to engaging and exchanging with you during the 16 days of activism.
With best wishes,
Stephanie: Officer Promoting Women’s Leadership, Caritas Internationalis