ADEA joins ORANGE THE WORLD: Ending Violence against Women and Girls

This year as well, ADEA joins the UNiTE “Orange the World” campaign, which will galvanize global action calling for an end to violence against women and girls. According to the United Nation’s agency for gender equality (UN Women), violence affects one in three women worldwide.

The 16-day campaign against gender-based violence is an international event that takes place each year, running from 25th November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10th December (Human Rights Day), also encompasses other important dates. This worldwide initiative was originated by the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and is coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership.

In 2014, the UNiTE campaign called on governments, UN entities, civil society organizations and individuals across the world to “Orange their neighborhoods” to raise public awareness about the issue of violence against women and girls. As one of the official colors of the UNiTE campaign symbolizing a brighter future and a world free from violence against women and girls, the color orange was once more a uniting theme throughout all events.

The 2015 call to action, “Orange the World: End Violence against Women and Girls” marks not only the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA), the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights, but also the new UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in September 2015 during the UN General Assembly (UNGA).

“Violence against girls in schools and universities remain a serious and complex problem around the globe. Prevention, breaking the silence and activism are key actions that can stop and reverse this trend. Women and girls must make their voices heard!”, says Ms. Oley Dibba-Wadda, ADEA Executive Secretary.

ADEA is deeply involved in gender issues, especially concerning education and training. In addition, the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), a former ADEA working group that has  graduated, continues to support the Association to identify projects and actions that enhance girls’ and women’s education at all levels. In addition, the two institutions launched a competition running from Thursday, 19th November to Monday 21st December, titled “Most Significant Change Stories: Mapping innovative programmes to advance girls in secondary education in Africa”.