The "16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence" Campaign in Cahul
December 3 was a day full of activities in Cahul - aimed at raising awareness on the issue of violence against women and children, they involved adolescents from Cahul, local public authorities, as well as the general public.Date:
Since morning, a creative workshop with ten teenagers from Cahul started at the “Grigore Vieru” Children's Library, during which the youngsters worked on a graffiti with the theme of eliminating violence against women and girls. They learned about ways to convey social messages through art, the importance of ensuring gender equality in their communities, as well as ideas of their involvement for eliminating violence against women and children and combating gender stereotypes in their locality. Together with the "Urban Spirit Family" team and its leader, the artist Inna Jeleascova (iZZY iZVNE), the teenagers developed inside the library a mural aimed at inspiring the next generation to contribute to combating gender-based violence. The mural was later inaugurated by Nicolae Dandiș, the Mayor of Cahul, Gintautas Baranauskas, Deputy Head of the Operations Department of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova Country Representative, and Ilija Talev, UNICEF Moldova Country Representative a.i., who also contributed to the design.
During the day, the officials met to discuss activities aimed at promoting gender equality and combating violence against women and children that are being implemented in Cahul through the EVA Project – Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni districts, funded by European Union and implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNICEF.
On the same day, outside the “Coffee Walk” Café in Cahul (1B Bulevardul Victoriei St.), with the support of the EU and Sweden, a professional mural dedicated to combating gender-based violence was inaugurated, developed by the “Urban Spirit Family” team.
The activities of the Campaign “16 days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” in Cahul ended with a press conference held by Nicolae Dandiș, Gintautas Baranauskas, Dominika Stojanoska and Ilija Talev in the square in front of the State University “Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu ” building, which was illuminated in orange, the color of the Campaign, as a sign of solidarity for a bright future. Representatives of Cahul municipality, the European Union Delegation, UN Women and UNICEF reiterated the commitment and dedication of international partners to join forces to promote gender equality and eliminate violence against women and children in Cahul.
“The municipality of Cahul joins the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign by sending a message to the whole society about how important it is to mobilize all of us to implement actions and projects for eliminating violence in our society and our communities. It is important to understand that violence is the result of the lack of education, lack of spiritual values, poverty, but also of other complex causes. Throughout the projects implemented together with our partners, we want to tackle this phenomenon in a multidimensional way. We, as a municipality, have also committed ourselves to participate in these projects with investments, activities, involvement and dedication, in order to obtain short, medium and long term results ", stated the Mayor of Cahul, Nicolae Dandiș, during the press conference.
Gintautas Baranauskas, Deputy Head of the Operations Department of the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, reiterated the European Union’s commitment to contribute to the elimination of gender-based violence in Cahul, but also in the Republic of Moldova in general: “Through the projects implemented in Moldova, the European Union aims to empower women and girls to make full use of their rights and to be active members of the society. We hope that the European Union's assistance to women and children affected by domestic violence will make them understand that they are not alone during this period. The EU will continue to work for the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, but also to raise awareness on the norms and stereotypes that perpetuate this phenomenon."
The UN Women Moldova Country Representative, Dominika Stojanoska, stressed that violence against women and girls is a serious violation of human rights, a problem that affects all countries globally. "Last year, globally, 243 million women and girls were subjected to physical or sexual violence. One in three women in the world is subjected to violence by their intimate partner, this statistic being relevant for the Republic of Moldova as well. In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the number of cases of gender-based violence and domestic violence has increased. Thanks to the generous support from the European Union, UN Women, and UNICEF, jointly with the local authorities of the municipality of Cahul and the multidisciplinary teams , will work to improve the prevention and protection from gender based violence and at the same time strengthen local policy making that is responsive to gender equality and involves women and men equally."
Ilija Talev, UNICEF Moldova Country Representative a.i., highlighted: “Statistics from the Republic of Moldova show that one in four girls was subjected to physical violence until the age of 18. Three out of four children between the ages of 2 and 14 are subjected to at least one form of domestic violence. Violence perpetuates violence and has long-term consequences for both children and the society at large. This is why it is important to work together to eliminate violence in our families and communities.”
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign is being implemented in Cahul through the EVA Project – Strengthened Gender Action in Cahul and Ungheni districts, funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women in partnership with UNICEF.