16 Days of Violence

You’ve seen the social media graphics flood your feed every November. You’ve watched organizations change their logos to orange. You might’ve even posted something yourself. But when it comes to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, most companies and organizations stop at surface-level gestures.

It’s not because people don’t care. It’s because they don’t know how to translate awareness into meaningful action.

The 16 Days campaign runs from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) through December 10 (Human Rights Day).

For more than three decades, it’s mobilized millions of people worldwide to challenge violence and discrimination. Yet many organizations struggle to move beyond token participation into genuine engagement that creates safer communities and workplaces.

If you’re responsible for your organization’s social impact initiatives, DEI programming, or community engagement, you know the pressure. You need to demonstrate authentic commitment to social issues, not just performative gestures. You need practical resources that help your team participate in ways that matter.

This guide shows you exactly how to make the 16 Days campaign work for your organization. You’ll learn about its global impact, why sustained participation matters, and how to create action plans your people will actually follow through on.

TL;DR

• The 16 Days campaign runs November 25-December 10, linking gender-based violence to human rights across 187 countries since 1991.
• Organizations often stop at surface gestures instead of meaningful action that addresses workplace safety and community violence.
• The campaign has driven legislation in Spain, South Africa, and Latin America, plus corporate policies at Unilever, Nike, and Vodafone.
• Gender-based violence costs countries up to 3.7% of GDP through lost productivity and healthcare expenses.

Before you can participate meaningfully in the 16 Days of Activism, you need to understand what you’re actually participating in. This isn’t just another awareness campaign with a catchy hashtag. It’s a structured global movement with specific goals, strategic dates, and decades of history behind it.

Understanding the 16 Days of Activism Campaign

The Campaign’s Origin and Evolution

The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence launched in 1991 at the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute, organized by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership. The original 23 participants chose dates that linked violence against women with human rights, running from November 25 (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) through December 10 (Human Rights Day).

What started as a grassroots initiative has grown into a global campaign. More than 6,000 organizations from approximately 187 countries have participated since its inception. The campaign operates through coordinated local actions rather than a centralized command structure, which means every organization contributes to a worldwide movement while addressing issues specific to their communities.

Why Gender-Based Violence Demands Global Action

Gender-based violence affects every country, crossing economic, social, and cultural boundaries. Globally, one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most often by an intimate partner. This isn’t a problem isolated to certain regions or demographics. It’s happening in corporate offices, university campuses, healthcare facilities, and homes across every continent.

The economic impact alone demands attention. Gender-based violence costs countries up to 3.7% of their GDP, more than double what most governments spend on education. For organizations, the costs show up as decreased productivity, increased healthcare expenses, higher turnover rates, and workplace safety concerns. When you frame it as both a human rights issue and an economic imperative, the case for action becomes undeniable.

The Strategic Framework Behind 16 Days

The campaign’s 16-day timeline isn’t random. Each date marks a significant moment in the fight for human rights and gender equality. The structure creates natural opportunities for different types of advocacy, education, and action throughout the period.

Key Dates Within the 16 Days Campaign

Date	Observance	Focus Area	Suggested Activities
November 25	International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women	Campaign launch and awareness	Social media campaigns, educational workshops, policy announcements
December 1	World AIDS Day	HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence intersection	Health screenings, educational sessions on violence and health impacts
December 6	Montreal Massacre Anniversary	Gender-based violence against women in education	Memorial events, campus safety initiatives, educational programming
December 10	Human Rights Day	Violence as human rights violation	Policy advocacy, fundraising events, commitment declarations

The framework encourages organizations to move beyond single-day events toward sustained engagement. You’re not just raising awareness on November 25 and calling it done. You’re building momentum across more than two weeks, giving people multiple entry points to learn, engage, and take action. Each date offers a different angle to reach different audiences within your organization or community.

But what has the 16 Days campaign actually accomplished since 1991? If you’re going to ask your employees to participate, you need to know whether this campaign creates real change.

The Real-World Impact of the Campaign

Legislative and Policy Changes Driven by 16 Days Advocacy

The 16 Days campaign has directly influenced policy changes across multiple countries. In 2013, the United Nations adopted its first-ever resolution on violence against women, citing decades of advocacy work from campaigns like the 16 Days. Countries including South Africa, Kenya, and the Philippines have enacted stronger domestic violence legislation following sustained 16 Days advocacy efforts.

Spain’s comprehensive gender violence law, passed in 2004, came after years of coordinated activism during the campaign period. The law established specialized courts, mandatory training for judges, and comprehensive victim support services. Similar legislative wins have occurred in Latin America, where Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay strengthened their femicide laws following campaign advocacy.

These aren’t abstract policy documents. They’ve translated into protective orders, legal aid funding, and criminal penalties for abusers. That’s measurable impact you can point to when your leadership asks why your organization should participate.

Organizational and Community-Level Change

Beyond legislation, the campaign has shifted how organizations approach gender-based violence. Major corporations including Unilever, Nike, and Vodafone have implemented workplace domestic violence policies directly tied to their 16 Days participation. These policies include paid leave for survivors, workplace safety planning, and employee assistance programs.

Universities have used the campaign to establish campus violence prevention programs. The University of Cape Town, for example, launched its sexual assault response team after participating in the campaign for three consecutive years. Community organizations have secured funding for shelters, hotlines, and prevention education programs by leveraging the campaign’s visibility.

The campaign has also created networks that outlast the 16 days themselves. Organizations that participate often maintain year-round partnerships with local domestic violence service providers, creating sustained support rather than one-off donations.

How Organizations Can Participate Meaningfully

Pre-Campaign Planning and Strategy

Start planning weeks before November 25. Identify a cross-functional team that includes HR, communications, diversity and inclusion leads, and employee resource group representatives. Set clear objectives that go beyond “raise awareness” – what specific outcomes do you want? More employees trained on bystander intervention? Increased donations to local domestic violence shelters? Policy changes in your workplace?

Research what other organizations in your sector have done successfully. Look for gaps in your current policies around harassment, safety, and support for survivors. Most importantly, allocate actual budget and staff time to this work. A campaign without resources becomes another task people squeeze in between meetings.

Internal Education and Engagement Activities

Host lunch-and-learn sessions that address gender-based violence in your specific industry context. Healthcare organizations should focus on recognizing and responding to abuse in patient populations. Tech companies need to address online harassment and digital safety. Retail businesses should train managers on supporting employees experiencing domestic violence.

Create safe spaces for employees to share resources and experiences. Set up anonymous channels where staff can access information about local support services without fear of judgment. Offer paid time off specifically for employees dealing with domestic violence situations – moving to a safe location, attending court dates, or meeting with counselors.

Don’t make participation mandatory or performative. Some employees have personal experiences with violence and won’t want to engage publicly. Provide multiple ways to participate, from attending events to volunteering with partner organizations to simply accessing educational resources privately.

External Advocacy and Community Action

Partner with local organizations that do frontline work supporting survivors. Don’t just write a check – ask what they actually need. Many domestic violence shelters need specific donations like new bedding, professional clothing for job interviews, or gift cards for groceries. Some need volunteers with specific skills like legal expertise, counseling, or childcare.

Use your platform to amplify survivor voices and expert perspectives. If you have a blog, podcast, or social media presence, feature people doing the work rather than positioning your organization as the hero. Share policy advocacy opportunities with your employees and customers, making it easy for them to contact legislators about relevant bills.

Different organizations have different capabilities. Here’s what meaningful participation looks like across organization types:

Participation Strategies by Organization Type

Organization Type	Internal Actions	External Actions	Resource Requirements	Expected Impact
Corporate/ Business	Employee training, policy updates, paid leave for survivors	Corporate matching, pro bono services, advocacy campaigns	Medium-High (budget, staff time)	Workplace culture shift, community funding
Educational Institutions	Campus awareness events, curriculum integration, student support services	Community education programs, research partnerships	Low-Medium (existing infrastructure)	Student education, research contributions
Nonprofit Organization	Staff training, survivor-centered policies	Direct services, coalition building, grassroots advocacy	Low-Medium (mission-aligned)	Direct survivor support, policy influence
Government Agencies	Interagency coordination, staff protocols	Policy implementation, public awareness campaigns, funding allocation	Medium (existing mandate)	Systemic change, resource distribution
Community Groups	Member education, safe space creation	Local events, mutual aid networks, grassroots organizing	Low (volunteer-driven)	Community connection, local awareness

The organizations that create lasting impact don’t treat the 16 Days campaign as a marketing opportunity. They use it as a catalyst for examining their own practices, supporting the people in their communities, and committing to sustained action beyond November and December.

The 16 Days campaign ends on December 10. Most organizations breathe a sigh of relief, archive their orange graphics, and move on to holiday planning. Then next November rolls around, and they scramble to figure out what to post again. This cycle of seasonal activism doesn’t create lasting change. It creates performative exhaustion.

Sustaining Impact Beyond 16 Days

Building Year-Round Prevention Culture

Real prevention work doesn’t fit neatly into a 16-day window. Gender-based violence prevention requires consistent attention, ongoing education, and embedded organizational practices that extend far beyond November and December.

Start by integrating prevention education into your regular training calendar. New employee onboarding should include bystander intervention training and clear policies about harassment and violence. Quarterly workshops can address topics like consent culture, healthy relationships, and recognizing warning signs of abuse. This isn’t extra work tacked onto already full schedules. It’s fundamental workplace culture development.

Create accountability structures that outlast the campaign period. Establish a gender equity committee that meets monthly to review policies, address concerns, and plan initiatives. Designate trained advocates within your organization who employees can approach confidentially year-round. Build relationships with local domestic violence organizations and maintain those partnerships continuously, not just during campaign season.

Your employee resource groups focused on women’s issues or LGBTQ+ inclusion should have dedicated budgets and executive sponsorship that spans the full year. These groups often carry the heaviest load during 16 Days activism, then get ignored until the next November. That’s backwards. They need consistent support to sustain momentum.

Connecting 16 Days to Broader Social Justice Movements

Gender-based violence doesn’t exist in isolation from other forms of oppression and injustice. The 16 Days campaign deliberately spans dates that commemorate various human rights milestones because these struggles intersect deeply.

Connect your 16 Days participation to your organization’s work on racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, economic equity, and disability inclusion. Women of color experience disproportionate rates of violence. Trans individuals face staggering levels of harassment and assault. Economic insecurity traps people in abusive relationships. These aren’t separate issues requiring separate campaigns.

When you’re planning March events for Women’s History Month or June programming for Pride, reference back to your 16 Days commitments. When you’re developing racial equity initiatives or reviewing pay equity data, acknowledge how economic justice relates to preventing gender-based violence. This interconnected approach prevents initiative fatigue while building more comprehensive understanding among your employees or members.

Measuring and Communicating Impact

You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and you can’t sustain leadership support without demonstrating results. Track meaningful metrics throughout the year, not just during the campaign window.

Measure participation rates in prevention training, employee awareness of reporting procedures, and utilization of support resources. Survey employees about workplace culture and safety perceptions annually. If you’re funding violence prevention programs, track the outcomes those organizations achieve with your support.

Share these results transparently. Include gender-based violence prevention metrics in your annual CSR report or diversity and inclusion dashboard. When employees see that 87% of staff completed bystander intervention training or that your organization’s funding helped 250 survivors access emergency housing, they understand that this work produces tangible outcomes beyond social media engagement.

You’ve decided to participate meaningfully. Now you need actual materials, not just good intentions.

Resources for Campaign Participation

The official UN Women website hosts the campaign hub with downloadable toolkits, social media graphics, and sample messaging in multiple languages. Everything from logo files to employee communication templates lives there.

The Center for Women’s Global Leadership, which founded the campaign in 1991, maintains an extensive resource library including planning guides and case studies from organizations worldwide. These documents show what worked and what didn’t for companies similar to yours.

Most regional UN Women offices also offer localized resources tailored to specific countries and contexts. These often include region-specific statistics, culturally relevant messaging frameworks, and connections to local advocacy partners who can provide ground-level support.

The campaign’s social media channels share real-time examples throughout November. Following the official hashtags shows how other organizations approach participation. You don’t need to create everything from scratch when thousands of organizations have already built frameworks you can adapt to your context.

FAQ

When does the 16 Days of Activism campaign take place?

The campaign runs from November 25 through December 10 each year. It starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ends on Human Rights Day. The 16-day period includes several other significant dates like World AIDS Day and the Montreal Massacre anniversary, giving organizations multiple opportunities to engage their communities throughout the campaign.

How has the 16 Days campaign created actual change?

The campaign has driven concrete policy wins across multiple countries. Spain passed comprehensive gender violence legislation in 2004, and several Latin American countries strengthened femicide laws following campaign advocacy. Major corporations like Unilever and Nike have implemented workplace domestic violence policies with paid leave and safety planning. These are measurable outcomes, not just awareness efforts.

What makes the 16 Days campaign different from other awareness campaigns?

The campaign operates through coordinated local actions rather than a centralized structure, allowing organizations to address community-specific issues while contributing to a global movement. Since 1991, over 6,000 organizations from 187 countries have participated. The strategic timeline creates sustained engagement across multiple weeks instead of single-day events that quickly fade.

Why should my organization participate beyond posting on social media?

Gender-based violence costs countries up to 3.7% of their GDP through decreased productivity, healthcare expenses, and turnover. For your organization, this shows up as real business costs and workplace safety concerns. Meaningful participation addresses both human rights obligations and economic impact, creating safer workplaces while demonstrating authentic commitment to social issues.

What scope does gender-based violence actually have?

One in three women globally experiences physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most often from an intimate partner. This crosses all economic, social, and cultural boundaries, happening in corporate offices, universities, healthcare facilities, and homes across every continent. Gender-based violence affects every country and demographic, making it a truly universal issue requiring coordinated global action.

The Bottom Line

The 16 Days of Activism works when organizations move past orange logos and social media posts. The campaign has driven real legislative change, shifted workplace policies at major corporations, and created measurable community impact over three decades. Your participation matters most when it connects awareness to concrete action that makes your workplace and community safer.

Start planning your organization’s meaningful participation:

• Audit your current workplace policies on domestic violence, harassment, and safety protocols before November 25
• Choose three specific dates from the 16-day timeline and assign teams to lead activities for each
• Set measurable goals beyond social media metrics-track policy changes, training completion, or resource distribution
• Schedule your January review meeting now to assess what worked and commit to year-round action

The question isn’t whether your organization should participate. It’s whether you’ll do the work that creates change or settle for performative gestures that change nothing.