ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A global annual campaign against gender-based violence (GBV) began on Wednesday, with a variety of Kurdish organizations taking part in muted commemorations amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an international campaign that kicks off on 25 November - the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until Human Rights Day on 10 December.
“Unlike last year, because of the coronavirus restrictions we are not conducting many face-to-face events, but we will be having online social media campaigns,” Tara Mohammed, MENA Community Liaison at the American University of Iraq - Sulaimani's Center for Gender Development and Studies told Rudaw on Wednesday morning.
“We will also be participating in World Disability Day on 3rd of December,” she added, saying “women’s role in that segment of society is not highlighted.”
As part of the Gender-Based Violence Working Group in Sulaimani, local NGO People’s Development Organization (PDO) will be holding an open event on Wednesday morning at Sulaimani’s Hawari Shar Park in collaboration with UNFPA Iraq and the Global Protection Cluster.
GBV killed 120 women in the Kurdistan Region in 2019, according to statistics from the Directorate of Combatting Violence Against Women.
Various events honouring GBV victims and highlighting the prevalent issue have been held throughout the year across the Kurdistan Region.
Some campaigns have been met with abuse and vandalism.
A Sulaimani art installation highlighting domestic violence against women was set on fire in October.
The campaign comes amid an uptick in reports of violence and discrimination against women in the Kurdistan Region.
A woman was killed by her three brothers in Kalar on Friday, prompting outcry from senior Kurdish officials and diplomats. In Duhok, a woman was sentenced to six months in prison for beating a man who allegedly sexually assaulted her during a job interview.
A May report from the United Nations Development Programme revealed that “243 million women and girls aged 15-49 were subjected to sexual and/or physical violence perpetrated by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months.”
The risks and occurrence of GBV have increased since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
An Oxfam report published in June found that women across Iraq, including in Kirkuk and Sulaimani, were at heightened risk of domestic violence and GBV as a result of the pandemic.
“Given that Iraqi women and children - especially those with disabilities - were already exposed to high levels of risk of domestic violence pre-pandemic, these figures are only the tip of the iceberg, considering that a large portion of incidents are not reported,” reads a statement released by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday noting a marked rise in incidents of gender-based violence. “Domestic violence accounted for more than three-quarters of all reported GBV incidents.”
