PSI supports the 16 Days of Activism to 
End Violence against Women

25 November 2007 – 10 December 2007

PSI is calling on all affiliates to say NO to violence against women by participating in the 16 Days of Activism to end violence against women. The 16 days of action against violence against women is a global campaign initiative in which trade unions and NGOs seek to raise awareness of and campaign against gender-based violence. 

The Campaign runs between 25 November and 10 December. 25 November was officially recognised by the United Nations in 1991 as International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and 10 December is International Human Rights Day. These dates symbolically link violence against women to human rights.

Other important dates for the calendar, during the 16 days of action, include World Aids Day on December 1st; International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on December 2nd and International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3rd.

Join in the campaign by holding events and sending a white ribbon to say NO to violence against women. Please do let us know what activities you have planned in order to participate in the 16 days of action, remembering to send photos of your events. We will post them on the website and include them in the first 2008 edition of PSI Women. Please send to equality@world-psi.org. 

Examples of activities undertaken by PSI affiliates in the past to mark the days of action include National White Ribbon Campaigns; lobbying for legislation to protect women against domestic violence; marches and rallies in co-ordination with other trade unions and women’s NGOs; and using the dates to launch nation-wide campaigns focusing on violence against women in the workplace.

Last year, on the occasion of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, PSI focused on the human rights violations which too often run parallel to women’s migration by calling for the protection of all women, regardless of their immigration status, against all forms of trafficking, exploitation and violence.


You can find out further information - and ideas on how to mark the 16 days of action - by visiting the following websites:

Download PSI materials

See PSI affiliates activities

Click here to access the statement issued by the global trade union bodies which highlights the extent of violence against women in the workplace and the impact of domestic violence and forced labour on women workers._____________________________________________