My Choices Foundation

We are Dragonslayers - UNiTE!

Today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Gender-Based violence campaign and concludes on International Human Rights Day (December 10). This year’s theme, UNiTE! Activism To End Violence Against Women and Girls! resonates so deeply with the core of My Choices Foundation.

Brazen violence against women and girls is a sign of the deepening loss of our collective humanity – it is one of the most invisible, but highly prevalent forms of human rights violation across the globe.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) remains the most widespread and pervasive human rights violation worldwide affecting more than an estimated 1 in 3 women, a figure that has remained largely unchanged over the last decade. The most recent global estimates showed that, on average, a woman or girl is killed by someone in her own family every 11 minutes.

Approximately 736 million women, experience physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner across their lifetime. Closer to home, 45% of women across Asia and the Pacific experienced domestic violence at least once in their lifetime.

Another staggering fact about innocent children is that around 223 million child brides live in India and 102 million were married before turning 15 - 40% of all child brides globally reside in India. COVID-19 further exposed the deep inequalities with the worst consequences, women and girls across the world faced a pandemic within a pandemic. Every 12 minutes a young girl, as old as 12 years gets trafficked into sexual slavery, getting raped up to 20 - 30 times per day.

Today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) marks the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Gender-Based violence campaign and concludes on International Human Rights Day (December 10). This year’s theme, UNiTE! Activism To End Violence Against Women and Girls! resonates so deeply with the core of My Choices Foundation.

At the heart of our work are the smiles of the little children, the assured confidence of young girls and incredibly strong women who are making their choices to live lives free of abuse, violence and exploitation.

We, at My Choices Foundation, call ourselves ‘Dragon Slayers’ - a metaphor for our people who go out there every day, slaying dragons in the field.

During a decade of a truly fearless and unstoppable journey, we have travelled thousands of miles and met millions of women and girls. When we see real pain up close, it shatters us into pieces and at the same time gives us tremendous strength. The pain and the sorrow that women and girls face because of the violence and abuse become a force that drives us and continues to remind us to move forward with sheer determination and immense passion every single day.

We have made huge strides to educate and empower girls, women, men and boys about the varied aspects of gender-based violence, but it is still a long way to go.

We, My Choices Foundation, join the UNiTE campaign and continue to shout against all forms of gender-based violence, and we call upon supporters, activists, governments and partners to increase awareness, galvanize efforts, share knowledge and highlight issues relevant to preventing and ending violence against women and girls, not only once a year, but every month and every day.

Nothing can be an excuse for violence against women and girls. We must stand for every woman and girl; for the right to a life free from violence, the right to access to services and the right to be heard and believed. Truly, we can create a free and safer world for girls and women to live and thrive.

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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