No matter who you are or where you are, it is time to speak out, to break the silence and to take a stand. We can no longer tolerate one in three women being subjected to physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.
It is time to end the gender inequality and the impunity that allow this violence and human suffering to continue on such a widespread scale. Governments have a responsibility to uphold human rights for all, to ensure safety and justice.
From domestic abuse to sexual violence, from cyber-bullying to human trafficking, from early childhood and forced marriage to female genital mutilation, it is time to end violence against women and girls in all its forms. Today, there is no country in the world — not one — where women and girls live free from violence.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, will continue to stand strong for the right of every woman and girl to live free of violence, coercion and discrimination. We will stand strong for sexual and reproductive health, rights and gender equality.
We are working with UN Women and other partners to develop global standards for essential services for survivors of gender-based violence. These services address psychosocial, legal and housing needs and the devastating health consequences many survivors face, which include forced and unwanted pregnancies, unsafe and forced abortions, and life-long physical injuries and mental trauma.
The impact on communities and society in general is far-reaching, and is further magnified in crisis situations.
In Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and other nations ravaged by conflict or natural disaster, UNFPA is providing reproductive health services, including maternal health care and family planning. We are working to ensure that the health and safety of women, including safe delivery and safety from violence, are prioritised in humanitarian operations.
The global community is united in its position that ending violence against women must be high on the post-2015 international development agenda.
UNFPA will keep pushing for a world free of violence for all women and girls. We will not stop until this violence is no longer tolerated, and is consigned to the shameful chapter of history where it belongs.
This is derived from a speech by Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, UNFPA executive director, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25 2014