“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” - Ida B. Wells, journalist and suffragist
Around the world we see great strides being made for women, like the first woman being assigned to a space mission or the largest box office weekend ever for a female-directed film (Hi Barbie), but true women’s equality is a global and urgent issue.
According to a 2018 report from the World Health Organization on "Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates", an estimated 736 million women (almost one in three) have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. That’s 30% of women aged 15 and older. Our partner, the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund), wants to change that.
The UN Trust Fund awards grants to initiatives demonstrating that violence against women and girls can be systematically addressed, reduced, and, with persistence, eliminated. They are the only global grant-making mechanism that is dedicated exclusively to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls. For the projects that receive grants, they work to:
- prevent violence against women and girls by empowering at-risk groups, like adolescent girls and indigenous or ethnic minority women, and engaging strategically with boys and men as well as traditional and faith-based leaders to prevent violence
- improve access to services, such as legal assistance, psychosocial counseling, and health care, by increasing the capacity of service providers to respond effectively to the needs of women and girls affected by violence
- strengthen implementation of laws, policies, and action plans on violence against women and girls through data collection and analysis and by ensuring that institutions are more effective, transparent, and accountable in addressing violence against women
According to their 2021-2025 Strategic Plan, the UN Trust Fund reached 54.6 million people, including 1.6 million women and girls and ~150,000 survivors of violence from 2016-2020! That’s a wonderful impact, and we all have the opportunity to help them achieve their even bigger goals for 2025. You can read their full plan and the report here.
Violence against women and girls is a grave human rights violation, with immediate and long-term physical, sexual and mental consequences for women and girls that can be devastating. With every pair of our Socks that Stop Violence against Women sold, you can help a survivor get the care and justice they deserve. Help us help millions of women achieve the health, safety, and stability they deserve one step at a time.
