Various activities are being carried out in China to mark this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The international campaign, which runs every year, aims to stimulate action to terminate violence against women and girls all over the world. It lasts from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, until December 10, Human Rights Day. This year, in order to further reflect the main principle of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign is marking the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence under the central theme “Leave No One Behind: End Violence against Women and Girls”. People around the world will hold various activities to call for a society free from violence against women and girls. As in previous years, the color orange is a key theme for all related activities.
Chengyusan Gongyi (橙雨伞公益) is a public welfare program that specifically focuses on caring for women and ending violence against them. In a recent article published on its official Wechat account, Chengyusan lists several activities held in China relevant to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
One of the main activities is organized jointly by UN Women and Chengyusan, and it has been very popular in previous years. Participants share photos or videos including the color orange and messages about fighting against violence on Weibo, using #点亮橙色# (#orangetheworld), @联合国妇女署 (UN Women) and @橙雨伞公益.
Another activity is focused on domestic workers. There are more than 26 million domestic workers in China; most of them are from rural areas and have migrated to big cities to make a living, sometimes after retiring from their previous jobs. The Beijing Hongyan Social Work Service Center (北京鸿雁社工服务中心) has started up an art festival with Oxfam’s support this year. The organizers collect photos that depict domestic workers’ stories and work, and exhibit them to bring more attention and respect to Chinese migrant women.
The ChangeMakers (橙志性别平等小组) also started a photo collection activity this year. The theme of the collection is gestures against violence, and participants need to send photos related to gender equality and anti-violence to the ChangeMakers’ Wechat account or to Weibo and add #橙色点亮世界# (#orangetheworld).
