#EachForEqual this International Women’s Day
March 8, 2020
Today, on International Women’s Day (IWD), the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, while also using the day as a continued call to action to accelerate gender equality. NNEDV is committed to challenging stereotypes and bias, raising awareness, and improving the lives of women in the United States and around the world.
This year, IWD is focused on highlighting that an equal world is an enabled world, using the hashtag #EachForEqual. The campaign is designed to celebrate women’s achievements and increase their visibility, while also calling out inequality. We are all individuals in a larger movement, and our individual (and organizational) actions, conversations, behaviors, and mindsets can have an impact on society as a whole. It means that, collectively, we can create powerful change.
“On International Women’s Day, we recognize the incredible achievements of women all around the world, but we must do more, individually and collectively, to fully secure rights and safety for all women. We must break down barriers and increase access to safety and justice for women in every community, in particular women from communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, especially those who have been unjustly marginalized in our society,” said Deborah J. Vagins, NNEDV President and CEO. “We must also create space for the next generation of women leaders to help create a safer, more equitable world for all of us.”
In this collective work to end domestic violence, NNEDV is part of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters (GNWS), a global voice for survivors and the advocates who serve them. The GNWS works to strengthen and unite the women’s shelter movement globally to end violence against women and their children. Through this network, NNEDV works with advocates around the world to make the world a safer place for women and girls.
NNEDV makes space to listen and understand the challenges that advocates face in their respective communities, and collaborate on how to best end gender-based violence as a global movement. Some issues that advocates face in the United States are echoed by advocates around the world, such as the need for women’s economic empowerment and increased and stable funding for shelters. GNWS also focuses on other, more region-specific issues such as equal property rights and rights of inheritance across Asia; the decriminalization of domestic violence in Russia; affordable housing in the United States and Canada; access to services for aboriginal communities in Australia; and resources for refugees around the world.
NNEDV honors the collective individualism that makes this and other work to end violence possible. We are all parts of a whole anti-violence movement and, when we work together, we can change the world. You can join us by:
- Following and uplifting the work of GNWS on Facebook and Twitter.
- Making a donation to support NNEDV.
- Staying in-the-know by signing up for email from NNEDV.
- Checking out our Get Involved Toolkit to learn how to make a difference every day.