As the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence comes to a close, everyone here at Equality Now is, as always, grateful for the opportunity to unite with our fellow activists across the world. 

Just as we have for nearly three decades, our team will continue our work across the globe to put feminist laws on the books to keep women and girls safe wherever they are in the world. 

But we also know that this work has to go beyond the law and into attitudes that shape the cultural understanding of sexual violence. The issue needs a new conversation that reaches hearts and minds and with the help of our community, we are having those important discussions. 

Here’s a look at what you may have missed over the course of our 16 Days campaign: 


Catch up on our latest events from this week:

Fireside Chat Ending Sexual Violence. No Excuses. No Exceptions.

Sexual violence is never acceptable. So why do countries have laws that fail to criminalize marital rape? Why do police forces around the world ask what a woman was wearing? Why do communities blame the victim and excuse the perpetrator? Hear from Equality Now’s global team on the challenges they’ve faced this year and the progress we’ve made, together with our partners, towards ending sexual violence.

>> Watch here >>

Prayers for the Stolen: Equality Now in conversation with Mexican filmmaker Tatiana Huezo and activist-scholar Dr. Lupita Ramos

Equality Now and Netflix hosted an intimate panel discussion of the new film “Prayers for the Stolen” about a young girl’s coming of age in a rural Mexican town controlled by drug cartels. Equality Now’s Latin America Representative Barbara Jimenez-Santiago and Mexican scholar and activist Dr. Lupita Ramos joined the film’s director Tatiana Huezo in an intimate panel discussion about the gendered impact of the drug trade and the rise of international sex trafficking in the region

>> Watch here >>

Other events across 16 Days:

• The Missing Link: Access To Justice For Survivors Of Sexual And Gender-Based Violence

Kenya Shadow Report On Maputo Protocol Points To Opportunities And Challenges In Enforcing Women’s Rights Treaties

In early 2021, Kenya became only the 17th country out of the 42 state parties to the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, also known as the Maputo Protocol, to submit a report on its implementation of the treaty. But what are state and shadow reports, and why do they matter in the work to achieve gender equality?

>>Read more >>

Weaponizing Defamation Lawsuits Against Survivors Violates International Human Rights

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the use of defamation lawsuits to retaliate against and silence women who have publicly denounced gender-based violence – including survivors who have spoken out against their own abuse. This form of intimidation violates international human rights law and perpetuates gender-based violence.

>>Read more >>

Accessible Justice: Sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities 

While survivors generally face barriers in reporting their abuse and accessing victim support services, those living with disabilities encounter unique challenges that are often overlooked by the criminal justice system, the government, and civil society writ large. 

>>Read more >>

Amplifying Survivor Voices: Interviews With Survivors Of Gender Based Violence In Kenya

As part of our work to end sexual violence in Kenya, together with several local women’s rights and support organizations, we sought the voices of survivors of sexual and gender based violence, to understand their reality and specifically their experiences as they sought to access justice.

>>Read more >>

A Culture Of Shame: Equality Now and Nemolchi.Uz Publish a New Report Highlighting the Gaps in Sexual Violence Laws in Uzbekistan 

Around the world, laws are failing to protect women and girls from sexual and gender-based violence. We partnered with the Uzbek organization Nemolchi.uz to publish A Culture of Shame: Sexual Violence and Access to Justice in Uzbekistan to highlight how ineffective rape laws and poor implementation deny access to justice for survivors in Uzbekistan.  

>>Read more >>

Positive Amendments to the Sexual Offences Act In The Maldives 

On 6 December, the Maldives President ratified progressive amendments to the Sexual Offences Act which were passed by Parliament last week. These amendments improve the definition of rape to criminalise marital rape in all circumstances, remove certain discriminatory evidence provisions which earlier existed in the law relating to the prosecution of rape; and strengthen investigations by mandating the use of rape kits and requiring law enforcement personnel to use a victim-centred, trauma-informed approach. 
These amendments address many of the issues we had highlighted in our 2021 report, Sexual Violence in South Asia, and which we had highlighted in advocacy campaigns in the Maldives, along with our partner Uthema. 

>>Read more >>