History
The 25th of November was chosen to mark the beginning of 16 Days of Action. This date commemorates the anniversary of the brutal murder of three sisters, named Mirabel, who were killed in the Dominican Republic, in 1960 for their political activism and outspoken resistance to the regime at that time.
At the fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, women's organisations and government representatives met from around the world and produced the Beijing Platform For Action. This document set out the actions which if implemented would significantly reduce incidences of violence against women. We must continue to demand the implementation of the Beijing Platform For Action. Violence against women is an issue for all countries and their populations regardless of generations, religions, occupations, sexual orientation, abilities, political persuasions and socio-economic backgrounds.
The 1st of December is World Aids Day and a day marked to raise awareness of the numbers of women and children raped in conflict and infected with HIV.
The 6th December this year marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. In 1989 at the Ecole Polytechnique at the University of Montreal 14 young women engineering students were gunned down by Marc Lepine because they were women.
The 10th December is International Human Rights Day recognising that women's rights are human rights and ends the 16 Days of Action.
16 Days of Action has become a familiar fixture in the diary of events taking place in Glasgow each year. The programme of events which includes activities arranged across the 3 localities of the city, is coordinated by the Glasgow Violence Against Women Partnership (GVAWP) Campaigns Working Group.
As in previous years, support for the 16 Days of Action is demonstrated by wearing a white ribbon. The white ribbon symbolises support to prevent violence against women. The white ribbon was initially used after the Montreal massacre. A group of men came together to add their voices to the campaign to end men's violence against women. White ribbons will be distributed through various outlets in the City. Look out for them and make sure you wear yours between 25th November and 10th December.