‘A Woman Or Girl Is Murdered Every 11 Minutes,’ Says UN Chief Antonio Guterres

Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), UN Chief, Antonio Guterres, said that violence against women is the most ‘pervasive human rights violation’.

He added that every 11 minutes, a woman or a girl is killed by an intimate member of her family. This comes in right after the much talked about Shraddha Walkar murder case in New Delhi.

Increase Funding By 50% To Women’s Right Organisations

India has been shaken by the gruesome murder of Walkar and other crimes that have followed it in the last few weeks. In the wake of this, Guterres suggested governments increase the funds given to women’s rights organisations and movements by 50%. This should be done by 2026.

He also pointed to the fact that economic turmoil and the Covid-19 pandemic have added to rise of violence against women and girls. From March 25, 2020, to May 31, 2020, the Women Helpline received more than 2.47 lakh calls. This was during the first lockdown imposed in India.

Guterres also added that girls and women face online harassment, sexual harassment, misogynistic hate speech, grooming by predators and image abuse quite frequently.

He said, “This discrimination, violence and abuse targetting half of humanity comes at a steep cost. It limits women’s and girls’ participation in all walks of life, denies their basic rights and freedoms and blocks the equal economic recovery and sustainable growth our world needs.”

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Time For Transformative Actions

The UN Chief asked governments to “consign violence against women and girls to the history books.” He stressed people in power to implement, fund and design national action plans to reach the root cause of the crisis that women all around the country.

Guterres said civil society groups must ensure strict laws are implemented. We need to support women’s rights and raise our voices against crimes.

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He shared details about Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2022 report. It says that globally at least one in every 10 women and girls in the age group between 15 and 49 are subjected to physical and sexual violence by an intimate partner.

It also highlighted that though laws are there in place to prevent and address violence against women, the way we are moving ahead, it is going to take us at least 21 years for these laws to be accessible by everyone and placed everywhere.

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