Belize Launches 16 Days of Activism With Major Push Against GBV

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence launched countrywide today, and it was not with a whisper, but with a collective roar. The 16 Days of Activism is a critical period where Belize joins nations around the world in a unified stand to eliminate violence against women and girls. This year’s campaign, running from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day, will see a wave of activities across the country, all united under a single, vibrant symbol, orange. Under the galvanising global theme “Prevent to Protect: Ending Gender-Based Violence Begins with US”, the ceremony began at six am today at the flag Monument in Belize City. Officially kicking off the three (3) week advocacy against GBV. It is a critical period where Belize joins nations around the world in a unified stand to eliminate violence against women and girls. Eleanor Murillo of the National Women’s Commission spoke with Love News about today’s launch.

Eleanor Murillo, National Women’s Commission: “We started out early this morning along with the Belize City Council, the Ministry of Human Development and the National Women’s Commission. We raised 16 orange flags at the roundabout by Palotti and Save U. And it’s really to, again, to spread awareness and to have persons in our community support victims and survivors of gender-based violence. So we had a small launch out there this morning. And then we followed that with this big launch here at the City Center inviting stakeholders and education institutions to participate in the first day of the commemoration of the 16 Days. And so now we move on, we will do a yes, we have started out strong and we’ll continue through the 16th and beyond very strong in terms of education awareness and policies and laws that we also have to work on.”

After the launch, members of the NWC, Ministry of Human Development, Families & Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, along with various schools, participated in a solidarity march through the streets of Belize City. We will be following the scheduled events as they come around./