Deputy Secretary-General: Elimination of Violence Against Women | United Nations

to act is now and right now we are going

to hear a special message from one of

the world's leading women the deputy

Secretary General of the UN Amina J

Muhammad who sadly couldn't be with us

but she wanted to make sure that you

would hear directly from

her excellencies ladies and gentlemen

thank you for joining us in this

commemoration the International Day for

the elimination of violence against

women and girls serves as a stark

reminder of one of the most pervasive

human rights violations and a global

public health problem with negative

multiplier effects across economies

politics and societies the rates of

violence against women are alarmingly

high and further aggravated by conflicts

crisis and emergencies and the

protracted Global backlash against

gender equality is threatening to undo

Decades of hard one gains women's rights

defend Enders and activists are facing

more risks than ever before including in

the digital sphere halfway through the

2030 agenda we are far from achieving

the target of eliminating violence

against women and girls it transcends

borders and cultures this year's

commemoration calls for the special

attention to prevention investment in

prevention is to invest in our

Collective well-being it means creating

conditions where women and girls can

thrive unburdened by the fear of

violence it means addressing both root

causes and drivers of violence

challenging discriminatory norms and

practices and promoting holistic

prevention policies and

programs first to address root causes

and drivers it is important to invest in

data collection and Analysis and use it

to inform policy and programming second

to tackle discriminatory norms and

practices legal reform to enhance

equality and advocacy towards behavioral

change is needed and third prevention

policies and programs must be

multisectoral coordinated and well

resourced with a long-term Vision the EU

un Spotlight initiative provides a

promising Model results achieved have

been historic and unprecedented nearly

500 laws and policies have been signed

or strengthened 2.5 million women and

girls have access gbv services and

thousands of lives have been saved a

both goals five and 16 Spotlight has

strengthened Civic space as well as

deepen government ownership and

sustainability evidenced by the tenfold

increase in National budget allocations

to

gbv as we prepare for Summit of the

future your engagement in prevention is

critical to accelerate efforts

collectively investing in prevention is

not just practical it is

transformative we must act now for a

better and safer for future for all

women and girls and for everyone each of

us has a vital role the UN family

development Partners civil society and

the private sector to step up our

efforts in preventing and ending

violence against women and girls let's

turn our shared commitment into concrete

action and together let's build a future

where every woman and girl live free

from violence thank

you

I'd like to invite