As part of the We Will Speak Out Coalition, the Anglican Alliance is sharing resources for churches and communities to use during the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women.
The 16 Days run from 25 November – 10 December 2016, and aim to raise awareness and promote action to eliminate violence against women and girls worldwide.
Click here to download the We Will Speak Out Coalition prayer resource.
This resource is for use by churches and individuals during the 16 Days of Activism. With this resource, the Anglican Alliance and other members of the We Will Speak Out Coalition, aim to:
- Raise awareness of the work of churches and faith based organisation in preventing and responding to gender-based violence
- Motivate churches and agencies worldwide to stand up and speak out against injustice against women and girls
- Engage with boys, adolescent males, and men to create positive images of masculinity– that respect women and treat them as equals
- Mobilise prayer on this sensitive issue globally.
We encourage you to use these resources and plan activities to raise awareness during the 16 Days. The toolkit integrates resources from the campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women, The Mother’s Union, and Women Deliver.
You can read more on our website about the We Will Speak Out Coalition, and how the Anglican Alliance is supporting gender justice worldwide, also linking with the International Anglican Women’s Network and the Side by Side Coalition. Please follow these links to see their excellent resources.
The Anglican Alliance and the International Anglican Women’s Network will be hosting a webinar on Thursday 1 December from 2.00-3.00pm (UTC) UK time to discuss these issues in further depth. Please do join to share your views and ask questions on line. You can register for the webinar here.
Please also share your stories from around the Anglican Communion on how churches, communities and agencies are marking the 16 Days of Activism.
The Anglican Missions Board of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, shares the story of the creative response from the South Pacific, where they mark a Sunday to Break the Silence on gender-based violence. Chelsea Kereopa wrote on AMB website:
“These are issues that affect all of us, and our brothers and sisters in the Pacific are leading the way and taking a stand. Why does the church need to participate? … we participate to break the silence within our church and our families about family violence; to affirm as Christians that we are all equal and made in the image of God; to affirm as Christians that violence has no place within our families, our Church, our schools, or our communities; and to add our voices and prayers to those around the world seeking the elimination of gender based violence.
Do not accept violence or injustice. Do not accept anything less than God’s love for all people. Make a stand for all the women and girls in your life and Break the Silence in your homes, families, churches, workplaces and communities. All of us need to Break the Silence not just one Sunday a year but every day. Because “if every Christian speaks out, there will be such a torrent, the whole world will stand up and listen.”
Listed below are some activities for each day that you can run with your church or community. For more on why the 16 Days of Activism are so important, see this fact sheet on gender-based violence.
DAY 1 – November 25
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
- At noon gather with others in your churches, homes or another venue, and then light a candle to remember those affected by gender-based violence.
- Pray for those affected by gender-based violence using the prayer resource.
- Photograph the lit candle and post it on social media with hashtags: #16Days #Faith2EndSGBV #shinealightonGBV
DAY 2 – November 26
- Swap your Facebook profile picture.
- Help spread the word and bring awareness to GBV by changing your profile picture and inviting your Facebook friends to change theirs!
- Download the campaign logo and upload it as your profile picture.
DAY 3 – November 27
- Learn how investing in girls and women improve communities. Download and share this infographic.
DAY 4 – November 28
- Raise money to support Empowering Women and Gender-Based Violence Programmes
DAY 5 – November 29
- Wear Orange! Join us and UN Women on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women.
- The initiative is aimed at raising awareness and mobilising action to eliminate violence against women and girls. The colour orange will be a key theme unifying all activities taking place worldwide, as the official color of the UNiTE campaign and as a symbol of a bright and optimistic future free from violence against women and girls.
DAY 6 – November 30
- Share the United Nations’ Orange the World poster via Twitter and Facebook. Invite your friends to take action to end violence against women.
DAY 7 – December 1
- Read about Goal 5 from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which includes specific targets to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
DAY 8 – December 2
- Learn about the important role faith-based organizations have to end gender-based violence in the research report ‘Silent No More’.
DAY 9 – December 3
- Quiz yourself. How much do you know about violence against women worldwide?
- For the #16Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, test your knowledge in this N. Women quiz!
- Share your results via Twitter and Facebook with #Faith2EndSGBV.
DAY 10 – December 4
- Host an event.
- Learn what it takes to create a safe space in your congregation.
DAY 11 – December 5
- Raise awareness on GBV within your congregation
- Download a copy of ‘One in Three: A Sermon Guide to Prevent Sexual Violence in Our Communities’ from the We Will Speak Out Coalition.
DAY 12 – December 6
- Share your stories highlighting the work of faith-based organisations from around the world.
DAY 13 – December 7
- Share the Violence against Women infographic to increase awareness of gender-based violence (GBV) as a global pandemic
DAY 14 – December 8
- Discover what it means to transform masculinities in our communities.
DAY 15 – December 9
- Pledge against violence!
- Please add your voice to our call to End Sexual and Gender Based-Violence!
DAY 16 – December 10
- On World Humanitarian Day learn more about landmark policies that have been made over the last 25 years, since the first 16 Days Campaign in 1991.
- Then support the International Violence Against Women Act.
You can also follow the Anglican Alliance on social media to keep up to date with the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anglicanalliance
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngliAlliance
