End violence against women by 2030: Guterres

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 26: UN Secretary General Ant�nio Guterres urged governments on Thursday to redouble their efforts for ending violence against women by 2030 as the world began 16 days of activism to highlight the issue.
"Violence against women is not inevitable," the UN chief said in a message. "Change is possible, and now is the time to redouble our efforts so that together, we can eliminate violence against women and girls by 2030."
For thirty years, the United Nations observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and this year it also kick-started 15 days of activism to highlight the issue across the globe. In Washington, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described gender-based violence as the 'shadow pandemic' and emphasised the need to combat it as an emergency.
"We recommit to preventing and responding to gender-based violence as a moral and strategic imperative, as a fairness and equity issue, and as a driver of our collective prosperity and security," he said. In New York, UN Women chief Sima Bahous said gender-based violence (GBV) was a global crisis. "In all of our own neighbourhoods, there are women and girls living in danger.
Around the world, conflict, climate-related natural disasters, food insecurity and human rights violations are exacerbating violence against women," she said. The United Nations also issued a report, pointing out that more than 70 percent women have experienced violence in some crisis settings.    -AFP