Skip to content

What is it?

Eliminating gender violence is the aim of ‘16 Days of Action’, an annual international campaign which runs from 25 November until 10 December.

Established in 1991, the campaign raises awareness of the reality of domestic violence and pushes for positive change to increase women's (and men’s) safety.

Levels of domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland have remained relatively stable since 2011-12, with around 58,000 to 60,000 incidents a year. The police recorded 59,541 incidents of domestic abuse in 2017-18, an increase of 1% compared to the previous year. Where gender information was recorded, around four out of every five incidents of domestic abuse in 2017-18 had a female victim and a male accused. This proportion has remained very stable since 2011-12. It is estimated that as many as 1 in 3 women will experience some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime.

The campaign continues to grow every year with more people getting involved and speaking out about gender-based violence.

Why those dates?

The 16 Days of Action run from 25 November, UN International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day. The campaign spans these 16 days in order to highlight the link between gender violence and human rights.

The 16 days period includes other significant dates like International Human Rights Defenders Day (29 November) and World Aids Day (1 December).

What are the aims of the campaign?

The 16 Days campaign is an opportunity for individuals and groups around the world to call for the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence by:

  • increasing women's and men’s safety
  • highlighting the nature and prevalence of gender-based violence
  • raising awareness of gender violence as a human rights issue
  • strengthening local work to tackle gender violence

East Ayrshire Violence Against Women Partnership, and its member organisations, support the campaign and co-ordinate a range of activity to promote 16 Days of Action throughout East Ayrshire. East Ayrshire Council is also an affiliated White Ribbon Local Authority Area, with Councillor Jim McMahon acting as an Ambassador.

White Ribbon Scotland is a campaign to involve men in tackling violence against women. It is a joint initiative by a coalition of organisations, individuals and groups of men around Scotland.    

Contact Information

East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership
The Johnnie Walker Bond
15 Strand Street
Kilmarnock
KA1 1HU