Six hundred Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers in Hong Kong participated in a dance rally as part of a global campaign called “1 Billion Rising For Justice.” The campaign aims to end violence against women. This was in response to a United Nations statistics that stated that 1 out of 3 women in the world, or equivalent to 1 billion people faced violence.
According to a 2013 global review of available data cited by the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
However, some national violence studies in the United States show that up to 70 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime from an intimate partner, the UN Women website said.
It added that in Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States, intimate partner violence accounts for between 40 and 70 per cent of female murder victims.
“ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE ” is a global call to women survivors of violence and those who love them to gather safely in community outside places where they are entitled to justice.
It started on February 14 2013, when one billion people in 207 countries rose and danced to demand an end to violence against women and girls.
This year, organizers hoped for a bigger campaign, particularly on Feb. 14.
“On February 14, 2014, we are escalating our efforts, calling on women and men everywhere to rise, release, dance, and demand justice!” the campaign website said.
(Eagle News Service)
