International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women

EDM number 770 in 2015-16, proposed by Angela Crawley on 25/11/2015.
Categorised under the topics of Crimes of violence, Equality, Sex discrimination and Sexual offences.

That this House welcomes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, taking place on 25 November 2015; understands that the day marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which in 2015, for the first time, has prevention as its theme; notes that one in three women will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime but believes such violence and abuse is preventable; acknowledges that major progress has been made around the world in terms of laws to protect women and girls; further notes in particular Guatemala's recent decision to ban child marriage, and that between 1995 and 2013 the percentage of countries that established a legal minimum age of marriage for girls of at least 18 years increased from 76 per cent to 89 per cent; further welcomes Nigeria's decision in May 2015 to ban female genital mutilation and hopes that its decision will set a bench-mark on the issue for other African countries; further understands the challenge in changing the cultural and societal attitudes that support child marriage and female genital mutilation and notes that although substantial progress has been made in recent years, violence against women is still a prevalent issue; further acknowledges the calls for government investment and engagement with civil society, especially women's groups, and notes the concerns of the activists who put the issue of global violence against women and girls on the map are increasingly being left out of the discussions; believes the people being excluded from the expanding conversation are the people who will identify emerging issues and ensure that the development of policies and services remain responsive to the needs of women and girls; and calls on the Government to recognise campaigners' importance in policy making and believes their voices are critical for future progress.

This motion has been signed by a total of 34 MPs.