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Today marks the International Day Against Violence Against Women.

In 1993, violence against women was formally recognised by countries all over the world as a violation of human rights, through the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the United Nations General Assembly. 

Since then, intensive studies have been conducted to examine the extent of violence against women and the forms it takes. In every country where reliable, large scale studies have been conducted, between 10 to 69 percent of women report that they have been physically abused by an intimate partner in their lifetime (UNFPA 2005 Report). Studies have also shown that at least one out of three women faces sexual and physical violence in her lifetime (UN Commission on the Status of Women 2/28/2000).

Yet, violence against women rarely receives the same kind of collective outrage that comes with other forms of human rights violations, such as the suppression of civil and political rights. We live with the reality of violence against women in our daily lives, almost accepting it as "normal". Every second, a woman or a girl is being abused, violated, harmed, harassed - simply because she's a woman, or a girl.

Reject this reality. Start your 16 days of activism Take Back The Tech! campaign by making a clear stand to end violence against women.

Imagine how Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo! messenger and the multiple forms of communication channels that we go to in our daily lives would look like, if every incident of violence against women was reported with a call for action.

State your stand. Take back the tech and communicate our collective outrage over the pervasive reality of violence against women!

1. If you frequently post updates, change your status message

• If you are on online platforms that allow you to post status messages, for example, Facebook, online chat messengers, Twitter etc., post a status message as a call to end violence against women.
• Make a commitment to post a status message about facts, information and your stand against violence against women throughout the 16 days.
• Add links to women's rights organisations, articles and resources or to this campaign website.

2. If email is a large part of your daily life, change your email signature

• Change your email signature during the 16 days.
• To find out how, check out the 2006 daily action.

3. If you have a website or blog, add a campaign banner

• There is a range of Take Back The Tech! web banners for you to choose from. You can also add a daily actions campaign banner that automatically updates calls for action throughout the 16 days.
• Banners can be found on the visuals and multimedia section of this site. 
• Just copy and paste the code of the banner you prefer on the html section of your site.

4. If you communicate mainly through mobile phones, send an SMS

• Send an SMS to 10 friends and mark International Day Against Violence Against Women with them.
• Add useful information, facts or a call to action, and invite them to send on the SMS to 10 more friends.
• Keep growing the message!

5. If you take lots of walks, bring a piece chalk 

• Take a moment to mark International Day Against Violence Against Women on a sidewalk, pavement or street
• Call for those who share your space to not side-step around the urgent need to end violence against women.
• Invite them to chalk with you. But be careful to not intrude on others' privacy and choose public spaces :)

Whichever spaces and communications channel you occupy, state your stand. Add your voice and build our collective call and commitment to end violence against women.