International Day For The Elimination Of Violence Against Women

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

The United Nations began campaigning to end violence against women decades ago, but its efforts gained little traction — until the outpouring of allegations of sexual misconduct against powerful men in Hollywood, the U.S. Congress and boardrooms put the issue on front pages and TV screens around the world.

The U.N. women’s agency now hopes to capitalize on the spotlight.

“This is the moment!” Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the executive director of UN Women, said in an interview ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Nov. 25. “It really has to come out of the woodwork.”

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated Nov. 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in honor of Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa Mirabal — three of four sisters who were Dominican political dissidents — murdered by order of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo on Nov. 25, 1960.

Here’s a look at rallies around the world that took place in an effort to raise awareness of the global plight of women subject to rape, domestic violence and other forms of violence. (AP/Shutterstock/Getty Images)

Photos from top: Thibault Camus/AP, Antonio Masiello/Getty Images, Alberto Morante/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock, Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters, Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images

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