Friday 25 November 2022 marks the International Day for Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) which starts 16 days of global activism. This year’s theme is “Unite! Activism to End VAWG”
Here in the UK, VAWG continues to be the most pervasive violation of human rights. The cost-of-living crisis is exacerbating the problem as poverty traps increasing numbers of women and girls in situations where they are exploited, oppressed and abused. Migrant women with no recourse to public funds are not protected by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and are therefore particularly vulnerable.
VAWG is a global issue: over the last few weeks in Iran, several young women have been attacked or killed while protesting against laws which forbid them to remove their hijab in public, and there are reports of systematic rape used as a weapon of war in Ukraine…
Read the rest of the Bishop’s statement here.