Petition: Stop violence against women  

To: All concerned individuals and organisations in Africa

The Youth of Africa say NO to violence against women and invite all of you to sign our petition, we need 500,000 signatures!

Dear fellow citizen,

We strongly feel that violence against women should NOT be tolerated, yet it has been ignored and is not seen as the crime that it is. Violence takes on all forms of abuse, physical, verbal, sexual, and emotional. It has devastating effects the most horrendous being permanent disability or death of the victim. All victims and their families are left with permanent scars and sometimes the victim never recovers. No one is ever completely healed and they often have to struggle to live with the scars.
Without nation-wide co-ordinated strategies to end violence, especially against children and women, we believe things will only get worse. But it is not just about our governments; it is also ABOUT US, all of us as individuals. It is our duty to stop violence against women and end the impunity to this crime.

The alarming facts:

  • 1 in 3 women and girls is beaten or sexually abused in her lifetime
  • 3 million girls in Africa are annually at risk of genital mutilation
  • 14.1 million girls in Sub-Saharan Africa are child brides, married before the age of 18
  • 4 million women and girls are trafficked annually
  • An estimated one million children, mostly girls, enter the sex trade each year
  • The most common act of violence against women is being slapped
  • Violence against women is a major public health problem and a violation of human rights
  • Domestic Violence is the least shared and reported form of gender based discrimination, which victims are mainly women and children
  • Many women do not seek help or report violence when it occurs
  • This is the crime that has the lighter punishments in legislation of most countries and suffers much impunity among perpetrators

All persons have a right to exist without fear.
We, young Africans can definitely stop violence against women now!

If you share the belief that violence against women is a crime:

  • Act upon your conviction and stop violence against women in your day to day life
  • Talk to your friends, family and community members to end violence against women
  • Be a change agent and an Ambassador for women's rights
  • Denounce domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment as an abuse and an outrage to women, girls, their family and the whole society
  • Hold your government accountable for punishing violence against women and for stopping impunity

Please sign this petition and forward it to your friends and contacts. We aim to receive 500,000 signatures by 25th November 2011

Your signature along with those of other concerned individuals and organizations will be published and disseminated among communities in Africa and forwarded to at least 16 African Governments and parliamentarians.

I, the signatory of this petition: 1. commit to stopping violence against women by being a change agent in my family, community, school, country and Africa globally; and 2. commit to holding our Governments accountable for protecting women and girls from violence of all forms and for stopping impunity on this crime against humanity.