Australia marked White Ribbon Day on Wednesday, a year-long male-led campaign culminating on Nov. 25 which seeks to stop men’s violence against women.

In 2015 alone, 78 women have died in Australia as a result of domestic violence. This translates to two women per week on average.

The death of Luke Batty in February 2014 also highlighted the issue of family violence, and saw Luke’s mother and Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty, establish the Luke Batty Foundation in order to act as a voice for victims of family violence.

However, domestic violence is as much an issue on the global scale as it is in Australia. According to the UN, one in three women around the world have experienced physical, emotional or sexual violence, mostly at the hands of an intimate partner. In fact, the global organisation calls it a “global pandemic”.

The UN’s ‘Orange The World’ campaign to end violence against women and girls coincides with White Ribbon Day, and will run from Nov. 25 to Dec. 10. The campaign encourages individuals, organisations and governments to participate in activities over 16 days to highlight the need for violence to end, and sees worldwide landmarks, such as the National Monument of Pakistan on lit orange.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will tour three continents over the 16 days in order to address the urgent need for the global pandemic of violence to be fought.

“Violence against women and girls remains one of the most serious - and most tolerated - human rights violations,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.

“The focus must now be on prevention.”

‘Orange the World’ is one of the initiatives under the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, which includes a goal dedicated to gender inequality, an immense obstacle against the fight to eliminate violence against women and girls.

Infographic: Violence against women

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