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International Women’s Day and the Globalization of Safety

March 7, 2017

On March 8, 2017, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) celebrates International Women’s Day, a global day of honoring women and the achievements of those who have fought for equality and for the rights of women and girls.

We yearn for a world where peace and safety are the norm – where violence against women no longer exists. To create this world, global solidarity and action are a much-needed force.

NNEDV is part of the Global Network of Women’s Shelters, working to unite the women’s shelter movement globally to make change and end violence against women and their children. Through this network, we work with advocates around the world to make the world a secure place for women and girls.

Creating a global movement requires staying informed on issues and priorities pertaining to women’s safety around the world. We make space to listen and understand the battles that advocates face in their respective communities, and we collaborate on how to best end violence as a global movement.

Some issues we face close to home are echoed by advocates around the world, such as…

  • The need for women’s economic empowerment and increased and stable funding for shelters
  • 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
  • Providing resources for refugees in the United States and across Europe and the Middle East
  • … and more!

Aside from meetings, the GNWS hosts the World Conference of Women’s Shelters. In 2012, NNEDV hosted the second World Conference of Women’s Shelters in Washington, DC, which brought representatives from more than 1,500 domestic violence shelters in more than 75 countries, and in 2015, NNEDV staff attended the third World Conference of Women’s Shelters in The Hague.

In addition to discussing global issues, strategic activism, informed advocacy, and best practices, the third World Conference also paid specific attention to historically marginalized populations. The Indigenous Women’s Shelter Network was founded during this conference.

Since then, NNEDV has stayed active in the global movement to end violence. NNEDV participated in the Commission on the Status of Women meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York, where we took part in discussions on the latest developments in the shelter movement and global efforts to end violence against women.

In addition to our Safety Net Project facilitating several plenaries and sessions at the third World Conference this month, their work was showcased by the GNWS as an example of successful global cooperation. Safety Net has completed nearly 70 international trainings in countries outside the United States, including, but not limited to: Austria, Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, and Portugal.

WESNET, the Australian national network, has worked closely with NNEDV’s Safety Net team to develop its own technology safety project, and NNEDV is currently working with national organizations in the Netherlands, Ireland, and Canada to launch similar sister technology projects.

Today and every day, we are inspired by the immense collective strength of the GNWS and the global movement to end violence. We will continue to work toward global peace and safety by ending violence against women and girls.