On the seventh February of 2020 the UN General Assembly officially designated the 25 of November as the International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Around the world one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence, and one in 4 women have experienced it during pregnancy. Each year over 150 million girls around the world are  raped or are a subject to sexual violence. Moreover, the extreme levels of violence against women have increased to reach an even higher level, especially in domestic violence, during the covid pandemic.

The International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women was created to raise awareness about this issue. I decided to interview one of my peers, Sophia D, about her thoughts on this issue. 

How do you feel about this day?  

Sophia: It is very important to have a day to focus on violence against women because it gives us the opportunity to raise awareness specifically on this issue. The issue being 137 women are killed by their partner or family member every day. However, if you are asking me how I personally feel about this day, it makes me sad that we have to have this day in the first place. 35% of women should not have to experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Do you feel that it is talked about enough in our school and in schools in general?

Sophia: No. I am pleased to see the topic has been talked about in some of my classes but it is not enough. From my experience, there is a lack of conversation outside of class as well as a lack of comprehension of how women including teenagers our age feel unsafe on a daily basis.

Sophia  is a very bright student who feels strongly about this issue. When coming across such issues it is crucial to spread awareness about them especially in schools.

Students at our school raised almost €400 on the 25th of November for the organisation Donne in Rete Contro la Violenza which helps to support women affected by violence.