A Community that Cares: Accountability and Action for Gender-Based Violence

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a global campaign that provides an opportunity for a diverse array of actors, such as activists, NGOs, and governments, to raise awareness and take action against violence towards women and girls in all their intersectionalities. The campaign was formed by women’s rights advocates in 1991 and continues to be a unique annual rallying point for individuals and organizations worldwide to stand up and call for action to protect those experiencing violence.

This year, World Renew, Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ), and International Justice Mission Canada (IJM) are joining efforts to create greater awareness and action against gender-based violence. We confront gender-based violence daily in national and international spaces. Together, our organizations advance advocacy and programming work with communities and governments at grassroots and policy levels. We help establish vital prevention, response and accountability measures that protect and engage marginalized communities experiencing violence. These collaborations on a domestic and international scale serve a crucial role in addressing the root causes of gender-based violence and the impacts that everyday practices, norms, policies and laws have on survivors’ well-being, ability to feel safe and access justice.

This year, we unite in solidarity to advocate for action for all women and girls everywhere, acknowledging first and foremost that freedom from violence is a fundamental and inalienable human right, also, the factors generating GBV are universal and transcend borders. Together, we stand with women and girls who continue to get caught in the crosshairs of all forms of abuse and exploitation, to those who continue to face abuse due to harmful cultural practices and the patriarchal systems they live in, to those who are direct targets of sexual exploitation and abuse for the economic benefit of others, to the victims of rape as a weapon of war, and to migrants and refugees who are experiencing gender-based violence while seeking safety. To those who have risked or lost their lives as advocates against GBV, we see you and stand with you.

It is essential to note that survivors of GBV have many different intersecting identities, such as sex, economic status, age, gender, race/ethnicity, religion, and ability or disability. These intersections shape and complicate their experiences of GBV, their ability to safely report GBV, and their ability to access justice and social services. GBV stems from a complex mix of factors, including structural inequalities and interpersonal violence.

This year, we emphasize the need for an approach that reflects the complexities and intersectionality of GBV and acknowledges that experiences and stories of GBV transcend borders. We also highlight that ‘community’ includes a wide array of actors, including faith-based organizations, civil society organizations, governments, UN agencies, faith leaders, traditional leaders and elders, media, law enforcement, policymakers and others working individually and in collaboration with others to eliminate GBV. When we practice community care for survivors, victims, and women and girls we are caring for our communities.

To us, a community that cares needs to understand and address the root causes of GBV and how it impacts not only the victim and survivor but also their entire community. This is a holistic approach that engages multiple sectors to tackle GBV. Community care allows us to shift away from the perception that gender-based violence is an individual problem, but rather a societal and complex issue that is caused by a more significant issue in a community. The prevalence of GBV indicates that the needs of the community are not being met. This reframing allows us to examine realities such as financial insecurity, escalating and complex abuse in the digital space, substance misuse, displacement due to war and conflict, and harmful and oppressive policies that deny access to resources or enforce sexist beliefs, as exacerbating GBV.

It is also important to note that community care moves beyond the principle of medical care or health. We must care for our communities by providing outlets such as accessible and inclusive ways to report violence, culturally and religiously competent mental health resources, economic opportunities that reduce the vulnerability of women and girls, gender-based violence education campaigns for young girls and boys, access to childcare, advocating for women and girls' access to education, trauma-informed law enforcement, affordable housing, food security, and policies built on survivor’s recommendations. We support survivors to pursue agency and self-determination by embedding such outlets into our communities. So, when gender-based violence does occur, survivors are not excluded and isolated from their communities but instead have access to pre-existing resources to report the crime, access safe homes and start their healing journey. Therefore, our collective focus and dedication to a community that cares is a powerful tool in humanizing the experiences of those affected by GBV. It also directly challenges the oppressive systems that often blame individuals and deny them access to assistance and protection services, both locally and globally.

By advancing the “community that cares” strategy during this campaign, we open the door to discuss prevention, response, and accountability to end gender-based violence. Prevention, response, and accountability components are crucial to creating communities that support survivors instead of punishing, stigmatizing, or shaming them for their experiences. To ensure that these are honored, community care must embody itself as a commitment to mutual aid and build a system of collaborative exchange where individuals within a community share resources and services to meet each other's needs. This commitment to each other and our communities is a pillar of solidarity that helps uplift survivors of GBV. Through community care, we can address gender-based violence, support survivors, grieve those whose lives were lost due to GBV, and continue to advocate for stronger accountability frameworks.

Here are five ways you can take action and support survivors:

• Download and use The Community That Cares: Reflection and Advocacy Guide to create awareness and encourage action against GBV

• Know the signs of an abusive relationship and how to report gender-based violence if experienced by yourself or someone close to you. Find resources in your city or province/territory here.

• Email your local Member of Parliament and Member of Provincial Parliament to advocate for women and girls and survivors and victims of GBV.

• Financially support organizations that work on prevention, response, and accountability programs to support victims of gender-based violence around the world.

• If you are in a position of power, ensure that you have in place and implement policies and frameworks that prevent GBV and when it occurs, provide speedy, efficient, and non-judgemental response support- Stand beside survivors as they take ownership of their lives; let them lead.

To learn more and get involved, visit: