‘Collective responsibility to ensure women’s safety’

Nagaland launches digital campaign to end violence against women 

Kohima, November 24 (MExN): “It is our collective responsibility to ensure women’s safety, and encouraged everyone to participate in the online digital campaign,” Ritse said while launching the digital campaign to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which falls on November 25. 

The digital campaign was launched under the theme, ‘We are in it Together: Let’s end gender-based violence.’ This day marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which culminates on December 10 (Human Rights Day).

The digital activities are being jointly organized by the Department of Social Welfare, Nagaland State Commission for Women (NSCW), Nagaland State Social Welfare Board (NSSWB), State Resource Centre for Women (SRCW) Nagaland-Mahila Shakti Kendra, and 181-Women Helpline (WHL) Nagaland. They include an online pledge campaign, poetry slam video competition, awareness video on pledge campaign, IEC on ‘legal entitlements to empower women’, and an awareness video on service providers 181-WHL & Sakhi-One Stop Centre (OSC).

The poetry slam video competition is open to those aged 15-30 years of age, with cash prizes of Rs 15,000, Rs 12,000 and Rs 8000 respectively for the winners. For more information on the competition, and the online pledge campaign, one may follow the official Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts of the SRCW Nagaland, and/or 181-Women Helpline Nagaland.

At the district level, the district administration under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) program, will also be organizing various activities with the MSK-District Level Centres for Women (DLCWs) and Sakhi-OSCs to commemorate the occasion.

According to the United Nations (UN), the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women issued by the UN General Assembly in 1993, defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.”

“Violence against women continues to be an obstacle to achieving equality, development, peace as well as to the fulfillment of women and girls’ human rights. All in all, the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - to leave no one behind - cannot be fulfilled without putting an end to violence against women and girls,” UN stated on its official site.